When Princess and Prince Meet
by Golden.Starlight
Summary: Being a royal is not as easy as it seems, thinks Mikan. Well, it was all a nice ride until she met the Prince from next door. They embark on the matters that all humans face, as well as what no human would want to imagine themselves to be in…
1. I: Once Upon a Time

**Writer & Editor: Sakura-chan (Aaand Kyoko-tan managed to find some mistakes still. .-.;)**

**Disclaimer: No, unfortunately I do not own Natsu- I mean, Gakuen Alice. -sigh-**

* * *

___Being a royal is not as easy as it seems, thinks Mikan. Well, it was all a nice ride until she met the Prince from next door. They embark on the matters that all humans face, as well as what no human would want to imagine themselves to be in..._

* * *

"_Remember when we first met?"_

"_Pfft, yeah, how can I forget?" She laughed as tears streamed down her face._

* * *

_I. Once Upon a Time_

* * *

An alarm clock rings in a room in a mansion in the land of Hanakura. A certain girl in her bad doesn't budge, or heck, even move. It seems that alarm clocks don't work for her...

That's why there are various alarm clocks in her room!

One goes off, then another, no two having the same ringtone. Finally, the girl shuffled in her bed.

"Arg, why is it so loud? I can't sleep..." She says, half-awake. She looks up at one of her clocks on her bedside table. She has five on each bedside table, having ten in total.

She glances at one of them. "Oh, it's only 9:35, and I have to be downstairs at 9:30..." She lies down onto her bed and closes her eyes.

A few seconds later, they burst open. "Wait, it's 9:35, and I have to... oh no," she kicks off her covers, goes to the washroom to do her morning routine, tripping when she came out of the washroom in the process.

"I'm almost done," she says between her breaths as she put on her pink top, orange knee length skirt, and white knee high socks. She runs out of her room and run-

Plip~

BANG!

"OW!"

Okay, I mean fall down the stairs.

She gets back up and limps to the kitchen, where her mom and dad are sitting at the table. Her dad is drinking coffee and reading the newspaper and her mom is reading a book.

"Good morning mom and dad!" She smiles a big smile, trying to act as if nothing wrong happened, like she _wasn't_ late, and she _didn't_ just trip on the stairs.

"Good morning late Mikan," her dad replies.

"..." Mikan puffs her cheeks. "It wasn't my fault, the alarm clock-"

"All ten of them," her mom adds onto her sentence not looking up from her book. Both of her parents laugh.

They are the more relaxed-type parents.

"Okay okay, all ten of them didn't wake me up," she explains to her parents, then suddenly realizing that it's her fault, again.

Her dad gave a sigh as he puts down his newspaper, and looks at her. "Mikan, you're 16 now, most kids your age don't need a gazillion alarm clocks to wake themselves up."

"Well-"

"And you're a princess of this kingdom too."

"But I-"

"You are going to eventually be the Queen of this Kingdom, and judging from the way you are acting now- "

"Okay okay dad, I get it. 'Judging from the way you are acting now, I won't be fit enough to take care of the land,' blah blah blah."

"Good, understand and do it," her dad gets up and looks at the fridge door, "and since you understand that, can you go get milk for us? We ran out it seems."

"Why can't you get the butlers to go to the store and get it?"

"Because of what we just talked about."

"Can I at least eat something first?"

"You came down too late."

"... fine," Mikan crosses her arms at her waist, "but do I have to get bodyguards?"

"Yes, of course. We're not letting you out of this house without bodyguards."

"But, as you said before, I'm 16. I don't need bodyguards."

"Oh yes you do. No matter how old you are, since you're a princess, you need a bodyguard. Your mom has bodyguards when she goes out too," her dad goes up to her and ruffles her hair. "I'm sorry Mikan, but I can't let you out without bodyguards. It's much too dangerous without them with you," her dad smiles at her.

"Fine..."

'_I'll just escape from the bodyguards when I get out...'_ Mikan thinks to herself as she puts on a sweater and walks out the door of her mansion.

_~(^^)~_

"Arg, where can you find '1% Partly Skimmed Milk?'" She grunts to herself as she was walking on the sidewalk with her bodyguards walking behind, in front and beside her.

"Uhhm, we passed a few stores already that sells it..." the butler replies. Her parents in the last minute, in fact, made her bring a butler along just to make sure she gets what is needed.

"Ehhh? Why didn't you tell me?" She moans. "All of the stores look _exactly_ the same! Why don't they say 'We sell 1% Partly Skimmed Milk' on their front door? It would have been so much easier..." She cries as she hits her forehead. "I guess this is why my mom and dad wanted me to go buy it myself..."

"Yeah, you just need to go out more often and get to know the places, Sakura-sama. Don't worry, we'll help you." Her butler replies, and gives a smile.

"Thanks," she replies, and they continue walking down the street while the butler explains what each store contains and about the city near their house.

Meanwhile while that was going on, in the kingdom directly beside them...

_~(^^)~_

"Hit that target with your Fire now," the butler in the land of Kiminatsu orders.

A fire ball emerges from one certain boy's hand, and he launches it at the target, right in the center, as usual.

"Good Hyuuga-sama. Seems that you get better and better each day," his trainer taps the target. The center of the target is completely black from the lad's fire. He had to admit, he's getting very good at this.

"Tch, this stuff is too easy." He replies bluntly while he was wiping his forehead with a towel.

Since he was discovered with this strange power a couple of months ago, his parents made his "most professional at self-defence" butler train him. As much as he doesn't want to, he doesn't have a choice, and neither did his butler. His butler knows how much he hates these trainings that he must do at least 4 times a week for a couple of hours. If he doesn't, he'll get a big scolding from his parents.

It's not only because of the fact that he was apparently "gifted" with this magical ability, but also because of safety. He was almost kidnapped several times now when he was around the forest behind his mansion, and his parents thought that it'll help "decrease the attempted kidnappings."

The farthest the kidnappers have gone though, was grabbing his arm. Natsume was smart, and knew what to do whenever that happens. However, because of this special power, his parents thought that it's best for him to get trained with it so that he can be safer.

Of course, he doesn't tell anyone this. Only the people who he's closer with know about this. This stuff doesn't make it to the press because this happens in the back of his house, where people are not allowed to go to.

-Except for the people who would do anything to get power and/or money from his kingdom.

"Okay Hyuuga-sama, I think your training is done for now."

"Thanks." Natsume left the training room, and went straight to his bedroom and straight into the showers.

He throws on some clothing, jeans and a random shirt to be a bit more precise, and is about to walk out of the mansion when...

"BIG BROTHER!"

"What."

"Aoi-chan needs help with her homework!"

"No. Do it yourself."

"But-"

"I helped you yesterday already." He replies without looking at her, and continues tying up his shoelaces.

"Please? I don't get this one question," she gives the so-called "puppy-dog" look. Natsume isn't attracted by it at all. However, he realizes he hadn't done his homework yet. He has to give _some_ credit to his sister for reminding him, despite the fact that he hates doing homework.

Natsume sighs.

"Fine," He takes his shoes off and walks with his sister to the living room, where she did her homework.

After a few minutes, he manages to help her on a few questions.

"Thanks big brother!" Aoi replies back and makes a wide grin.

"Go ask mom or dad next time, idiot." He hits her gently in the head.

"But they're always too busy. It's been so long since we've had some family time..."

"I'm fine with them being busy." Last time they had family time, Aoi barfed on the roller coaster.

Natsume almost chuckled when he remembered that. They went to an amusement park, and their dad dragged the whole family onto a roller coaster. What his dad didn't know was that the roller coaster he just dragged them on was one of the fastest and longest roller coasters in the world.

Natsume didn't mind and thought his dad knew that, but when he realized that his dad wasn't aware of it, they were already at the top, and then, they heard a loud "BLECHH" as they were going down.

Aoi interrupts his train of thought.

"Yeah, but when they talk to us now, they're only telling us what to do, and giving lectures to us for not behaving the way they want us to." Aoi looks down at her homework and starts fiddling with her pencil.

"Better than having them staring at us 24/7." Natsume says as he walks out of the room, one hand in his pocket, and the other carrying his manga.

"Hey, I have one more question!"

"No. Do it yourself, or you'll never-"

"Yeah yeah yeah. I get it, 'or I'll never learn, and I'll be an idiot forever,'" Aoi sighs. "I'll do it myself. Just don't give me a lecture like what mom and dad does. 'You're the princess of this land, and you, Natsume are going to be the king. Act like one!'" She mimics what their parents say to them _all the time._

"Pfft, I hate hearing that," He replies as he walks towards the door, again. "I don't want to own this dang place anyways." He mutters to himself as he walks out the door, with his bodyguards.

_Who knew that their fated meeting would be like this?_

* * *

Aaaaand there's chapter 1.

Of course, next chapter will be much more interesting, I hope. Review please~ and please read our other fanfictions too! :D

-Sakura-chan, aka, the obsessed Natsume fan.


	2. II: Brief Meeting

**Writer & Editor: Sakura-chan~**

**Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice = not mine. :(**

* * *

_II. Brief Meeting_

* * *

"Welcome back, Sakura-hime. We hoped you had a fun time outside… uhh…"

"Shopping for milk," she finishes off her maid's sentence. "Oh, and stop calling me 'Sakura-hime', Kana! I told you to call me Mikan. M-I-K-A-N."

"I'm sorry, I don't think I have the authority to do that, Sakura-hime," Her maid, named "Kana" replies.

"Well… I'm ordering to call you to call me by that name from now on," she blurts out.

"Yes, Sakura-hi- I mean, Mikan."

"Thank you, Kana-chan." Mikan walks into the kitchen, along with Kana, her personal and closest maid. "Where are my mom and dad?" She asks as she twirls around.

"Oh it seems that they left. They didn't tell me why though."

"Oh, thank you Kana," Mikan replies and she gives her usual radiant smile. "I guess I'll go out then to the back. There's never anything to do in here."

"Sure, Princess."

"… MI-KA-N," She tells her sternly.

"Yeah, I mean, Mikan. Have fun!"

Mikan walks to the back of the house, and goes outside.

"Ahh!" Mikan heaves in a breath, her arms stretched out and eyes closed, embracing the nice cool breeze the moment she steps outside. The blue sky, the mild temperature, and the sun shining at its brightest- it's perfect.

"Kana, you have to come outside!" She calls through the door, not yet closed.

"I'm sorry, but I'm busy. Maybe some other time," She replies.

"Ah, okay." Mikan likes Kana being her maid and all, but she always forgets what they are mainly here for: to take care of the house when they're busy.

One day when Mikan was younger, Mikan asked Kana if she ever gets tired of doing all the chores for them. Kana just replied saying that she enjoys the job. She added on saying that it's never that messy in the house. Plus, she gets paid for doing it.

Mikan didn't understand why Kana wants to be a maid: she is beautiful, brown hair just below the shoulder, and brown eyes that always give an assuring look. She fits beautifully into her maid outfit: a white quarter-sleeved top and a purple skirt just below the knee. All of that, with a white pair of flats, and a purple hair band.

It's not mandatory to wear those clothes; however, it is when guests are coming over. Nonetheless, Kana would wear it. Mikan was assuming that she enjoys the outfit as much as she enjoys seeing her in it.

Now that she thinks about it, she feels that Kana could be a nice model. Now she has something to ask when she sees her again.

Mikan walks towards a tree, any tree, and is about to sit down when, she hears some talking going on behind her.

"_Are they kidnappers? What should I do if it was them?" _She shakes her head at that thought, stands up, as still as she can, while looking at the people who are talking.

"You finally get to meet them," one says.

"Whatever, nothing thrilling."

"_Who are they? I haven't seen people around my age around here…"_ Mikan thinks as she's staring at the two teens, both boys.

She quickly scans their looks: One has blond hair and blue eyes, and is carrying a white bunny in his arms. Mikan wonders how the boy could keep it from running away. Mikan had to squint to see their faces clearly.

He's wearing a pair of dark blue shorts, and a beige t-shirt.

The other guy, who seems to be the complete opposite of his friend, has jet black hair. She didn't have to squint hard to see his eyes, as they were alarming red, the colour of blood. Mikan shivers at that thought.

He's reading a book and sitting below a large Sakura Tree, beside the other boy who is just sitting there, petting his bunny.

She snaps out of her trance when they continued talking.

"Nothing thrilling… like when Aoi barfed on the roller coaster?"

"_Who's Aoi?" _She quickly runs through a bunch of names in her head, but nothing seems to click. Again, she stops thinking as soon as the other spoke.

"Haha, very funny. No, I mean, we meet people too often, I can't remember their names."

"_Touché,"_ She thinks to herself.

"So you're not coming with me tomorrow?"

"Nope."

"Ahh, I see." The one with the blond hair stands up, and brushes off the dirt that was on his pants. "I'll talk to you later then. I have to go home to pack."

"Sure, bye."

The blond boy left and the boy with the alarming red eyes remained sitting under the big Sakura tree.

She wondered how he got into her backyard. Now that she thought about it, she remembered her mom telling her that their backyard is very big, so she shouldn't be surprised to see someone there.

She looked back once again at him. He seemed to be content with reading the manga.

Mikan wanted to make a new friend really badly. Kana's always busy, and her best friend is going to be away for another couple of days. Plus, if would be nice to make a new friend…

She started stepping forward slowly, really slowly, feeling more uncomfortable as she took each one. The red eyes she saw from back at the tree she hid behind looks scarier and scarier each time she inched forward.

She was thinking about going back when she remembered something her dad told her when she met her best friend.

"_Don't judge a book by its cover, Mikan. The same applies for people. Some may look scary, but they probably aren't."_

Mikan stops in her footsteps, and looks at the lad once again. He is still reading his book. 'Gosh, how can he sit still and read a book in the great weather? I would run around!' Mikan thinks to herself as she subconsciously started walking towards him.

By the time she realizes, she is in front of him.

"Umm, umm…" She doesn't know what to say!

"Ummm… Do you want to play with me?"

No response.

She figures that he didn't hear her, so she asks again.

"Do you want to play with me?" She asks again, but louder. She knows for sure that he has to have heard him this time.

Still no response.

… Mikan is getting a bad vibe from him. Maybe what her dad said to her that time doesn't apply to everyone.

"Can you go away? You're in my light." He finally speaks in an irritated tone.

"…" 'Keep calm, keep clam, Mikan. Even though you want to strangle this person so badly for being so impolite, you should be good and not sink to his level.'

"Umm… mynameisSakuraMikan!CanIaskwhatyournameis?" She blurts out really fast. 'Really smooth, Mikan.' She reflects to herself.

"What the hell?" The boy closes his book, and stands up. "Go away, polka-dots!"

**Freak out – yes or no?**

**Yes.**

"You idiot! I was trying to be nice, but you just- Wait, polka-dots? YOU LOOKED? PERVERT!"

"Well I kind of can't NOT look. You were standing up and I was sitting down, not to mention," Natsume then points up, and a strong breeze blows by.

"YOU-YOU!"

"Whatever. Bye."

He walks away, but Mikan stops him, as she was out of her fit of rage.

'I have to learn how to be conservative,' she chants to herself as she remembers the chat she had with her parents that morning.

"Wait, what's your name?" She grabs onto his arm.

"… Hyuuga Natsume. Now can you let go of me?"

"Oh, right!" She blushes as she let go. "Let's play together some other time, okay?" Mikan smiles her "princess" smile.

"…" Natsume just walks away. When he turned around, she notices something around his neck. She subconsciously grabs his arm again.

"WHAT?" He is now furious.

Mikan doesn't reply. She just stares at what is on his neck.

"Are… you a…" She slowly manages to get out.

"Am I a what?" Natsume is confused.

"…royalty?"

"Does it matter?" He replies, taken aback by her sudden question. 'How did she know?' Then, he notices something similar on her neck.

They have the same necklace. Except, Natsume's is red, and Mikan's is orange. Only royalty wear these types of necklaces; however it's nothing that stands out.

"So that's why you were in my backyard!" Mikan shouts as she finally processes that fact in her head.

"… you're in my backyard, idiot."

"No, you're in mine!"

"… forget it. I'm not going to fight with you. Bye."

"Wait! When do you want to play together?"

"… not now."

"Okay, uhmm… how about tomorrow?"

"… no."

Mikan is getting frustrated. "Well, it's okay, I understand if you're busy. We're still friends right?"

"Hn."

Mikan takes that as a yes.

"That's great! I made a new friend! I'm Sakura Mikan, princess of the Hanakura Kingdom." Natsume's eyes widen a bit when he heard where she was from.

He turns around, turning towards his destination: his house.

"Hyuuga Natsume. Prince of the Kiminatsu Kingdom." He walks away right after that.

Once he left, she decides to go to the swings that they have around the side of her house. They built for her when she was a baby. They still keep it up for the guests that come over who have younger kids.

She sits on the swings and just… thinks, look at the sky, and thinks some more.

After about an hour or so, she notices that the sun is starting to set.

Mikan sighs. 'I guess there's nothing much to do out here. I'll go back…' she thinks to herself as she walks towards her house.

She gets into the house, to see her parents in the kitchen, scrambling with food. The maids and the butlers seem to be frantically running around too, adjusting their ties, bows, etc etc. Despite how dense Mikan is, she knows that something is wrong.

"Mom, dad? What's going on?"

"Mikan, make sure you have nothing planned in your schedule tonight and tomorrow! We're going to be busy!" Her mom yells at her while she is putting some of the groceries away into the fridge, with some butlers helping her.

"Eh? Why? What's going on?" Mikan asks as one of her maids is pushing her towards the stairs.

"Guests are coming over tonight!"

"Ehh? Who?" Mikan is excited. She suddenly stops, sending the maids that were pushing her into each other. 'Do I get to make another new friend today?' She thinks to herself.

"You haven't met them before, from what I recall."

Mikan eyes widen, completely filled with excitement. She enjoys meeting new people.

"They are royalties from Kiminatsu," her mom continues.

Eh?

* * *

I just kinda made up Kana's name on the spot when I was writing this chapter, ahahha…? XD Sorry for another short chapter, hopefully the next chapter will be longer/more interesting. x_x

You can review if you want, lol.

-Sakura-chan, Natsume obsessed.


	3. III: Casual Meeting

Sorry for late update, I've been really busy the past few weeks. x_x

**Writer & Editor: Sakura-chan~**

**Disclaimer: L'Académie Alice? Ce n'est pas à moi.**

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_III. Casual Meeting_

* * *

'Royalties… of Kiminatsu?' Mikan thinks.

"Yes, they are the Hyuuga's. The prince I think is about your age, Mikan." Her mother replies as she finishes up putting the groceries in the fridge and thanks the maids and butlers who tried to multitask.

"Y-yes, I'm very excited t-to meet them, mom."

"Good. Now go get dressed, they're going to be here soon."

"Okay."

_~(^^)~_

Now they are sitting in their seats, waiting for the guests to arrive for dinner. My mom was explaining a bit about their family.

"They used to rule over all of this land, however, the stress was too unbearable for them. Imagine having to take care of this whole land! The population was even higher than it is right now, and there were more disputes going on back then because the country was still new."

Mikan was astonished. She knew that the land that they rule over was humongous, but she never knew that her land used to be the size three times larger than it is now! Not only that, but the Hyuugas used to rule over all of it? That's crazy! No wonder they were stressed… her parents get stressed out just by taking care of their piece of land.

"The Hyuugas were really nice, and they tried to put everyone's opinion into their work. Of course, that resulted in more problems, to the extent in which they just gave up. They couldn't take it anymore. They didn't want to hand this job to another line to suffer like they did, so they took the matter into their own hands. They decided to divide the land into three uneven individual kingdoms."

"Then this is where we come in?" Mikan asks her mom.

"Yes. The Hyuugas' took the largest piece of land, to cut some slack for the other kingdoms. They decided who should get the other two pieces."

"We got one of them?"

"Yes, we did. Our line was close friends with theirs, so they offered, obviously not forcing us to have it. Of course, we accepted."

"Then who owns the other piece of land?"

"That belongs to Hotaru, and many other smaller kingdoms."

"Who are the other-"

She is interrupted when the doorbell rings; all of a sudden, her heart starts pumping twice as fast. She's about to serve the most important line of royalties… ever! Remembering that she called one of them a pervert the same day definitely didn't make her feel any better.

"Ah, they must be here!"

Her mom opened the door.

"Ahh, good evening!"

"Good evening, Yuka-san, thank you for inviting us to your mansion." Another feminine voice was heard.

"Oh, no problem, thank you for taking time to come here and have dinner with us, as well as spending time with us tomorrow, Kaoru-san."

'_WHAT? We're spending time with them tomorrow too?" _Mikan almost lost her composure.

"This is my husband, Izumi Yukihira, and this is my daughter, Sakura Mikan."

"Why do they have different last names?" The dad asks.

"Oh, we changed her last name in memory of her grandma who had a first name of Sakura. We decided that 'Izumi Mikan' didn't suit such a happy-go-lucky girl, and after all, part of her name is in our kingdom name as well."

"I want that name, ahaha~" A girl's voice is heard.

"Oh, this is my daughter, Hyuuga Aoi, and this is my son, Hyuuga Natsume." Kaoru introduces.

"Nice to meet you!" Aoi cheers.

Everyone else sweatdrops.

"Hey, I thought this was a casual event, not a formal one!"

"My my, she's just like Mikan, happy-go-lucky." Yuka remarks.

Everyone looks at her. Mikan, suddenly realizes that that is her cue to start talking.

"Uhh… hello." Mikan doesn't know what to say!

"Hello Mikan-chan!" Aoi wants to lighten this tense atmosphere, "I hope we can be good friends!"

"Yes, me too!" Mikan wants to be like Aoi, she is more relaxed and laid back, "and I hope to be good friends with you too, Natsume," she attempts to make a conversation with him.

"…"

"Sorry, Natsume isn't a talkative person," the dad replies, "heh, heh…"

"It's okay, Hyuuga-sama. I hope I'll get him to talk." Mikan smiles, making everyone laugh… of course with the exception of Natsume.

"Now that we had a nice chat, why don't we have dinner?" Her mom announces to all of them. They agree.

_~(^^)~_

They all sat down for a nice meal, made by Mikan's mom and dad.

Mikan was nervous. She never felt comfortable eating with guests, especially after hearing what her mom has told her about them.

"Mikan, are you okay?" Her mom whispers to her, her face seems a bit concerned. She suddenly realizes that she is poking at her food, which is so unlike her. She usually eats everything she sees, and tells her parents everything that has happened that day.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, I'm just a little tired, sorry," she replies.

"Do you feel sick? If that's the case, then we have to tell them now if we can cancel tomorrow's plans-"

"I'm fine, mom, really."

"Okay, are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Is there a problem, do we need to leave?" Kaoru looks concerned, "we don't want to be bothering your family."

"Oh, you're not bothering our family at all, after all, we invited yours, not the opposite." Kaoru and Yuka start laughing.

"Doesn't Mikan get bored because she's an only child?" Aoi asks her.

"Ahh, I spend most of my time with my friends, and my parents try to spend as much time with me as they can too, so I'm fine with it," Mikan starts to feel more comfortable, "how about you? I never felt what it's like to have a sibling."

"It's irritating, people think that the two of us are going to get married to each other or something, because Natsume-nii-chan is the prince and I'm the princess of Kiminatsu. What they don't know is that I'm going to be marrying someone from another kingdom." Aoi blushes as she said the last line.

'_Aww, Aoi-chan's soo cute!'_ Mikan thinks to herself.

"Other than that, it's good, since Natsume's a pure genius…" she glares at him, and in return he glares back. She then continues, "He doesn't have to try in order to get straight A's."

"Because of your stupid brain, I have to be a genius so you can pass," Natsume retaliates.

"Are you saying that I make you do all of my homework?"

"I'm not saying, I'm implying."

"Now now, you two…" Kaoru interrupts.

However, Mikan is amused. She feels that the air has completely loosened, so much in fact, that she starts laughing out loud because of their bickering. That results in Aoi and Natsume looking at her, perplexed.

"I see what happens when you have siblings!" She shouts, while everyone else starts laughing… with the exception of Aoi who is confused, and Natsume who is annoyed.

"I'm done," Aoi responds, "Mikan, are you done? Can you show me around?"

"Aoi!" Kaoru exclaims.

"It's okay, really." Mikan smiles her princess-ly smile. "Aoi, I'll show you around!" Mikan gets up and picks up Aoi's and her plate, and puts it in the sink.

"Yay!" Aoi shouts.

They were about to leave, when Mikan stops in her tracks.

"Natsume, do you want to come too?" She realizes that Natsume is done eating his food as well.

Natsume just glares at her, and then all of a sudden –

**BOOM!**

All of a sudden, everyone starts laughing, with an irritated Natsume, faceplanted on the floor. The culprit: his mom.

"Oh my goodness, sorry for pushing you onto the floor, Natsume!" Kaoru, says between her laughs.

"…" Natsume stands up, and wipes the dust off of his clothes, not happy at all by what his mom just did to him, in front of his family and Mikan's family.

"Come on Natsume, I guess your mom wants you to go," Mikan says after she had her laughing fit.

Natsume just glares at his mom and starts walking towards Mikan and his sister.

_~(^^)~_

"And this is the guest bedroom," Mikan says as she purposely acting as a tour guide, "they get their spare bathroom, and it comes with one queen, and two twin beds, and you can put them together in any way to make the bed bigger."

"Awesome… that's soooo awesome…" Aoi looks at the room.

"Eh? Really? As the royalties of Kiminatsu, I'd expect you to have these things too."

"Yeah, we do, but the wallpaper…"

Mikan sweatdrops.

"Heh heh, okay, let's move onto the next room now…" Mikan walks in front of them, and starts leading, towards the end of the hallway.

"This is the walk-in closet of my mom and me. My dad gets a smaller one next door. What do you guys have?"

"Not much, each of us gets our own, but most of it is filled with things like dresses, and as for Natsume and my dad, dress shirts and pants because of all of the meetings we have to go to."

"Ehh, that's awesome…"

"We can trade clothes one day!"

"Really? Will I fit in yours though?"

"I'm not sure, but we'll find out." Aoi grins.

"When?"

"Tomorrow, when we meet again. You guys will be coming to our house!"

"EHHH?" Mikan screams, and then covers her mouth, realizing that she may be attracting attention from the grown-ups downstairs.

Speaking of which...

_~(^^)~_

"Yeah, we feel guilty for making him do that training, but we are worried for him," Kaoru explains.

"You think that our Mikan may be the same case?" Yuka asks.

"Yes, judging from the necklace."

"Okay, we'll pay more attention to that."

All of a sudden, a loud pitched noise was heard upstairs.

"EHHH?"

All of the parents sweatdrop.

"Sorry, that was my daughter Mikan," Yukihira remarks.

"Glad to hear that all of them are having fun," Hiro, Natsume's dad, laughs.

"Oh, it's getting late. Should we leave now honey?" Kaoru asks her husband.

"Yes, I think we should, we don't want to keep them up after all. Thank you for inviting us, Yuka-san and Izumi-san."

"Oh, no problem at all. Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to meet with us, and taking time for us tomorrow as well."

Kaoru and Hiro gets up and calls Aoi and Natsume. Of course, Natsume gets downstairs right away, while Aoi takes a little longer, talking nicely with Mikan.

"Thanks for inviting us, and see you tomorrow at our house!" Aoi shouts to Mikan.

"No problem, and thank you Kaoru-sama and Hyuuga-sama for coming… and Natsume."

"…"

"We'll be leaving now, thank you Mikan, see you all tomorrow." Hiro ends off, and they leave the house.

With that, Mikan sighs, and goes into the kitchen to sit down, and her mom follows her.

"How did you like the first meeting with them?"

"It wasn't really my first meeting with Natsume…"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I saw him one day in our backyard…"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, we share the back with them."

"Why?"

"Before they decided to divide the country into three, that area was their "stress relief" area. When they divided the country, they decided to share the back with the people who would own Hanakura."

"Ahhh, I get it!"

"Good, now it's time for you to go to bed. You'll be busy with them the whole day tomorrow."

"Yeah yeah yeah…" Mikan replies as she goes up to her room. "Good night, mom."

"Good night, honey."

* * *

Hana_kura... _Sa_kura_... yeah. -Awkward Slience Follows-

Oh yes, reviews would be nice. Check out our profile for info about our current, finished (yes, even our finished) and future projects. :)

-Sakura-chan, the girl who seems to stretch her story too much.


	4. IV: Exploring the Hyuuga House

**Writer and Editor:**** さくらーちゃん～**

**Disclaimer:**** 学園アリス？私のではありません。**

* * *

"_Promise?"_

"_I promise."_

_Tears of joy slowly streamed down her cheek..._

* * *

_IV. Exploring the Hyuuga House_

* * *

Mikan woke up, and surprisingly, before three of the alarm clocks went off!

She sits up on her bed and stretches, and looks out the window. _'Another beautiful day!'_ She thinks. _'This must be a record!'_ She continues.

She gets out of her bed and does her morning routine and goes downstairs.

"Good morning mom and dad," she chants, as always.

"Good morning Mikan," they both reply back in unison.

"You are on time today, surprisingly," Mikan's dad teases her, "must be because you're going to visit your new friends again."

"Yep!" Mikan smiles as Kana brings her breakfast in front of her. "Thank you Kana~"

"You're welcome, Mikan-chan," she replies.

Mikan starts eating as fast as she can so they can go to Aoi's mansion.

"Whoa Mikan, you don't have to eat so fast… we still have about half an hour or so," her mom tells her.

"Bwaht I have to pwick ou cloves for Aoi-chan so we can twade zem," Mikan replies.

"Swallow Mikan before you speak."

She does what her mom tells her. "Ehehehe, sorry~"

"Now say what you were saying before."

"I have to pick out clothes for Aoi-chan so we can trade them."

"Ahh, okay then. You have…. 27 minutes."

"EHHH!" Mikan stuffs everything in her mouth, and once she is done, she continues, "thank you for the meal!"

She dashes down the hallway and goes into her walk-in closet and chooses clothing that she's willing to give away... which is pretty much anything in the closet, Mikan being, well, Mikan: the girl who would put friends and family above all else.

Those 27 minutes seems to have past by really fast, because before she knew it, they are already getting ready to go to their mansion.

Yuka knocks on the door, and is welcomed by Kaoru a several seconds later.

"Welcome!" She greets, and they take off their shoes and carry them onto the rug placed on the side, and walks in.

"Wooow, it's soo… clean!" Is Mikan's first reaction, not realizing that she has just said it out loud.

"Really? I guess all of the cleaning yesterday night and this morning paid off, ahaha," Kaoru replies.

"Hello!" A male's voice comes into the conversation. "Welcome to Kiminatsu!"

"Thank you, Hyuuga-san," Yuka responds.

"Welcome Mikan-chan," Hyuuga-san greets her, "Aoi is downstairs, and Natsume's going to be downstairs soon. He's just… busy at the moment."

"Okay, thank you!" Right after she thanks him, she dashes down the hallway.

"Mikan!" Yuka calls her, but she was too far to hear, either that, or she ignored her. "… I think she's going to get lost."

"Nah, it's fine, just let her get lost." Yukihira responds, while everyone sweatdrops.

"The dining room is just done the left hallway, let's go?" Kaoru says.

"Oh, yes." Yukihira replies.

With that, they go down the brightly lighted hallway.

Meanwhile…

_~(^^)~_

'_Wait, didn't I see that door already?'_ Mikan thinks to herself as she tries to find a door to lead downstairs.

"Ahhh! Too many hallways and doors!" She says to herself, as she has her hands on her forehead.

'_Calm down Mikan, you'll find it eventually… after all, the mansion can't be THAT big, right…?'_ She ponders, and continues walking down the DARK hallway.

However, 15 minutes later…

"AHHHHHHH!" She screams, and a long echo goes down the hallway. She continues walking, and encounters 3 separate paths. This was the last straw for her.

She runs down the first hallway; the one farthest to the left, and quickly opens every door, checking if they lead to a set of stairs leading downstairs. She then encounters this one door, and realizes that the lights are on. Really relieved, assuming that this is the right door, she is about to grab the doorknob when she hears a noise.

**BOOM BOOM BOOM**

'_What… was that…?'_ Mikan thinks, really scared. _'Robbers? Don't tell me that I've just encountered a crime? Why? Why WHY? I didn't do anything wrong, I was just lost, I didn't mean to be a witness, and and and-'_

Her train of thought was interrupted when she heard talking. Being the curious girl she is, she tries to hear what they are saying by putting her ear against the door.

"Behind you!"

Then right when that person said that, another different sound was heard.

**Krrrrr**

Now Mikan is officially freaked out, and her curiosity overwhelms her.

Mikan slowly opens the door, and peers in.

"Good, perfect as usual, Hyuuga-san." The same person's voice was heard again.

"This is nothing." Another voice was heard. Mikan's eyes widen when she hears this voice, this voice so familiar, and realizes that this voice belongs to the no other Natsume.

That's when she doesn't think about what may be happening in the room anymore. For some reason, she thinks about what would happen when Natsume finds out that she's been peeking at whatever he is doing.

'_I didn't mean to! I was just looking for Aoi, it's your fault for having such a big house! I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to peek in! Honestly!'_ Mikan thinks.

Suddenly, she remembers what Aoi said at the dinner table the other night.

"… _Natsume's a pure genius…"_

Of course, Mikan being Mikan, drops to the wrong conclusion...

'_That's it! He must be doing some random drug-thing so that he can be naturally smart! Yes, that's it!'_

… a conclusion that makes no sense whatsoever.

Subconsciously, she makes a fist, a small evil grin emerges on her face, and a glint appears on the top of her right eye.

While in her train of thought, she doesn't realize that someone approaches her.

That person taps her on the back.

"Shh, you're interrupting my train of thought, wait a sec," she replies, being the mindless person she is.

The person taps her again, and this time, Mikan realizes her situation.

She turns stiff, and stays as still as a rock. Immediately, she thinks _'Uh oh, I'm dead now, it's probably Natsume, and he's going to beat me into a pulp!'_

She slowly turns around, with sweats forming on her forehead.

"Y-y-e-s-s?" She asks.

"What are you doing here?" A scary, monotone voice is heard.

Mikan bursts.

"I'm sorry Natsume! I didn't mean to, I swear! I was just looking for a way downstairs, and I thought that this was the doorway! I didn't hear anything- Uh, I mean I heard some but I won't tell anyone, I swear!" Mikan then covers her head waiting for the highly possible incoming impact.

"Oh, Mikan?" Mikan suddenly realizes the voice, and slowly opens her eyes.

"Aoi?" She mumbles, "THANK GOODNESS!" Mikan glomps her.

"Ahh, Mikan! I was looking everywhere for you! When I found out that you arrived and that you still haven't shown up downstairs yet after about an hour, I started looking for you!"

Mikan calms down.

"Sorry for scaring you, that's the voice I use to scare people away."

Mikan sweatdrops at that comment. _'Well… it worked!'_

"Oh, I have a ton of clothes for our swap!"

"Oh, that's great!" Mikan replies, "let's go!" After that exchange of words, Mikan follows Aoi down the hallway.

_~(^^)~_

While Mikan was waiting for Aoi to change into the light green dress that she made her try, she can't help thinking about what she may have found out about Natsume in the room.

Aoi cones out of the change room, and notices that Mikan is too quiet.

"Mikan, what's wrong?" She asks.

Mikan thinks that it's best to tell her instead of pondering about it.

"Uhm, I think your brother is taking something to be naturally smart."

Aoi's eyes widen.

"What makes you think that?" Aoi asks, knowing that Natsume's 'genius' gene is common in their line.

"Uhhm, I heard voices in his room."

Aoi just raises an eyebrow.

"Ya' know, the one where you saw me peering through…"

"Oh, uhm, Mikan, that's not Natsume's room." Mikan notices her sudden change in tone of voice, a more serious, calmer one.

Mikan suddenly grasps the fact that she's going into their private family business.

"Oh. Sorry Aoi, I didn't mean to invade on your family is-"

"Oh, no it's fine. It's not something really big, but I think that since you've seen a lot, I don't want you to understand it wrong."

Mikan was about to say something, until Aoi interrupts her again.

"The thing is, Natsume was in that room to train with his butler."

"For what?"

"Well, you see, a couple of months ago, we went camping. We were playing in the lake; it was a typical family time with all of us trying to splash each other. What my dad didn't realize was that the only pack of matches we bought was in this pocket. We didn't bring any food with us, so that was one of the most important items that we needed in order to survive the next week or so we were going to stay there."

Mikan starts to get really confused. _'How does this have to do anything with what Natsume's doing in the room?'_

As if Aoi read her mind, she smiles, "don't worry, it'll make sense to you when I'm done telling you this. I can't just tell you that, 'Oh, my older has this random fire power!' Since well, I doubt you'll believe me," she jokes around at the last sentence.

Mikan nods, completely not believing that supernatural powers could possibly exist in a… too normal world.

"We found out that the matches were in his pocket, soaked, when we went inside the cabin. All of us were freaking out; the calmest one out of all of us was of course, none other than Natsume. That's when I started noticing that he looked a little pale, and just assumed that he was just starving, since well, he didn't anything for breakfast, before we left."

Mikan, now completely absorbed by what Aoi is telling her, sits there, wide eyed, until Aoi stares at her.

"Mikan, you know that necklace you are wearing now?"

Mikan got out of her trance, and looks at it, "Yeah, why?"

"When we were sitting on the couch trying to think of a way to get food, Natsume was sleeping. None of us disturbed him, because once all of us realized that he was too pale, we made him take a nap while we thought of a way to solve this food crisis."

Mikan raises a brow, and Aoi carries on.

"All of a sudden, a red glow comes out of Natsume's necklace. All of us were thinking the same thing, 'What the heck just happened?' Then, we were all relieved because we saw Natsume's restoring the original color as before. Everything went back to the way it was, but the only difference was that his necklace was bloody red, the same as his eyes. Well, and my mom's, and mine!"

Mikan giggles when Aoi said that small little joke.

"Anyways, after a few minutes, Natsume wakes up, and the first thing he mentions is 'Why are you all looking at me.'"

Mikan rolls her eyes. _'Typical Natsume.'_

"We told him what happened, and he just shrugged it off, being the calm and careless guy he is, however, I knew that he wasn't all that calm. While we were still trying to think of a way to survive the next week, he was just staring at his necklace deep in thought. I would do the same thing if I were him… after all, the pale red necklace glowed and changed into a blood crimson red."

Aoi giggles a bit after that last sentence, and carries on.

"The rest of us went outside, trying to find fish, while figuring out how to cook all of it. Natsume came out later, and then all of a sudden, a fire came about in the pit where we always ate."

Aoi sighs, and then continues once again. "We all thought that this was some sort of magic trick that Natsume performed, but when we looked at him, he was wide eyed himself, not believing what he had just done."

Mikan had never believed in these things, because, well, she never thought about it. Now, she is staring at Aoi, wide eyed, not believing what power Natsume has.

"Since then, my parents have been advising him to train at least 4 times a week for a couple of hours to get his improve on his "fire power". Natsume obviously does what they say."

Awkward silence then fills the room, with both girls not knowing what to say.

"Natsume… he's a really nice person, I think." Mikan blushes when she says that.

Aoi's eyes widens at the sudden comment.

Mikan, suddenly realizing what she blurted out to Aoi, starts flailing her arms, and she feels her face heating up even more.

"I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean-" She stops when she sees Aoi about to burst out laughing.

"That's the complete opposite of what everyone says!" She says. "Why did you think of that all of a sudden?"

"Well, because he never seems to disobey his parents, even though only bad words come out of his mouth, I can tell that it's all going towards a good cause," Mikan blushes as she says that, then she thinks about how she and Natsume met, and her total facial expressions change. She adds, "but when I met Natsume, I thought that he really was a meanie," her eyebrow twitched when she made that remark.

"How so? I don't remember anything he did last night at your house."

"Heh, about that, I met him the afternoon before that…" Mikan laughs, while they both sweatdrop. "When I met him, he saw my-"

"I saw your what polka-dots." A monotone voice interrupted the conversation, while chewing on an apple.

That made Mikan furious. "N-N-N-NA-NATSUME! YOU PERVERTED MORON!"

"What did I do."

"STOP CALLING ME BY MY PANTIES!"

"Why?"

Mikan just glared at him, both hands have turned into fists.

"Aoi, what are you wearing." He says as a statement, more than a question, like most of what comes out his mouth.

"For your information, she's wearing what I gave her." Mikan crosses her arms, with her cheeks inflated.

"It's ugly."

Mikan throws a fist in the air, hoping that it'll land on his face, only to be blocked by him. "Don't act all high and mighty just because you can make fire when you want to!" Mikan says as she is trying to get her fist out of Natsume's clutches.

Once Mikan said that, she knew she shouldn't have said that.

Mikan's and Aoi's eyes widen, and this time including Natsume's, but he gets back into his composure. He glares at Aoi, as he still has Mikan's fist in his possession. He then suddenly pulls her arm down, bringing her whole body onto the floor. A loud "BOOM!" was heard from the impact.

"S-sorry Natsume… but she saw you training earlier today… so…"

"Idiot." He hits Aoi's head with a light punch.

"Natsume, that's mean…" Mikan speaks for Aoi, as she is rubbing her head.

"Now you have to tell mom and dad."

"I know…" Aoi sighs.

"I'm not going to clean this mess up when you're away tomorrow morning either."

Mikan turns to Aoi. "W-what does he mean by that, Aoi?"

"Well… I'm gonna be away for a little while, I'm kinda going to meet my fiancé." Aoi does a small laugh.

"Oh." Mikan was planning to play with Aoi again tomorrow, but she guesses that _that's_ not possible anymore.

"Don't worry Mikan, I'll be away for just a little while, let's make the most of it while I'm still here!" Aoi jumps off from her seat.

Mikan smiles as well. "O-kay!"

Aoi, Natsume (for the most part at least) and Mikan played together and before Mikan knew it, it was time for her and her family to go.

"Thanks for this great day, Aoi and Natsume!" She smiles after she says that.

"It was fun, Mikan, I'll see you in a few weeks or so!" Aoi replies as Mikan and her family leaves into their car.

When they left, Aoi went to her parents, who were sitting at the table.

"Mom, dad, I have to tell you something."

"What is it hun?"

"Well, I kinda told Mikan about Natsume's power… without your and Natsume's consent."

That made her parents look at Aoi.

"Why?" Kaoru asks her daughter.

"Because… she saw Natsume training when she was looking for me."

"It's okay Aoi, but did you tell Natsume?"

"Yes, and he said for me to tell you guys."

"Well, then it's fine, as long as she doesn't tell anyone."

"Thank you mom and dad."

"Go to sleep, Aoi. You need to get up earlier to meet Youichi tomorrow."

"Okay, thank you."

Meanwhile…

_~(^^)~_

"Today was awesome!" Mikan tells her parents when they were getting out of their car and into the house.

"It sounded like all of you had fun."

"Ye-yeah…" Mikan suddenly thinks of Natsume. Once discovering that she was, _'shoo, bad thoughts go away!'_

"Oh and Mikan,"

"Yes mom?"

"Hotaru's coming back tomorrow from her vacation."

"REALLY?"

"I want you to introduce her to Natsume."

A vein in Mikan's head throbs. "WHY?" She asks as she cries waterfalls.

"Because I think that all of you will be good friends."

"Easy for you to say…" She mumbles.

_Slowly, but surely, fate is starting to play its role._

* * *

How do you like it? Tell me through a review please! :D Yesh, guess who's going to be coming in next chapter?

-Sakura-chan~


	5. V: Departure and Introductions

**After being on a temporary -cough- hiatus, WPAPM is back with another chapter! After what, eight months? /OTL**

**Anyways, read, review, and enjoy. :) (Especially the 'review' part!)**

**Writer and Editor: Sakura-tan**

**Disclaimer: … Gakuen Alice is not ours! T_T**

_Oh, and by the way, join the **May Madness** event! :) _

* * *

_V. Departure and Introductions_

* * *

"Aoi, now be careful when you're at Youichi's place. Do you have your toothbrush?" The mom asks.

"Yes mom, and even if I didn't, they said that they will provide me with one."

"Do you have your hairbrush?"

"Yep."

"How about your dresses?"

"Of course I would have those!"

"How about your cellphone, slippers, nightgowns, and—"

"Mom, I think Aoi has everything," Natsume butts in, irritated, "and even if she doesn't, we can always ship it to her or something."

"Natsume, let your mom do her job," Hiro, the dad, replies as he puts his hand on Natsume's shoulder and winks at him.

Natsume just responds with his signature 'hn.'

"We'll miss you, Aoi!"

"Mom, it's only for a few months…" Aoi replies with a sweatdrop.

"Well, let—" Kaoru's voice is interrupted when the airport speakers in their zone is heard.

"**Flight 1243 is ready to let the passengers aboard the plane. Please make sure you have your belongings and ticket ready to show to the flight attendant." **

The announcement repeats a couple more times, and then stops.

Aoi looks at her ticket and realizes that it's her flight. She looks at her family again, with a happy, but nervous look, as this is her first flight alone.

"Aoi, we're going to miss you!" Kaoru then hugs Aoi tightly, and then the dad joins the hug as well.

"Natsume, want to join the hug?"

Natsume responds with a glare.

Aoi stops hugging her family, and goes up to Natsume, and then hugs him.

Natsume, not really prepared with what his sister is doing, just stands there. He then remembers to think, and, for the first time in a loooooong while, hugs her back, and whispers:

"Take care, sis."

Aoi starts tearing up after hearing this, and let's them fall down her cheek.

"I will, onii-chan."

With that, Aoi goes on the flight, while the rest of the family stays and, after a while, looks at the plane depart the airport and fly into the sky.

_~(^^)~_

Mikan looks at her breakfast with a glare.

"_Why do I have to share MY best friend with HIM?" _Clearly, she still isn't happy with the news that her parents proposed to her in the car last night.

"Honey, are you okay?" Yukihira asks his daughter.

"Yeah!" Mikan snaps from her 'angry mood.' She quickly eats her breakfast and gets ready to go outside. _"I'm not going to let Natsume kill my mood today! I get to see Hotaru again!"_

"Where are you going?" The mom asks as she comes downstairs.

"I'm going to see Hotaru!"

"Have fun dear," the mom answers, "I want you to introduce her to Natsume—" She gets interrupted when she hears her daughter slam the door closed. Yuka's eye twitches.

"_Note to self: give her a lecture for not listening to her mother tonight during dinner."_

_~(^^)~_

A really loud, desperate knock is heard on the door.

The family just sweatdrops.

"I'm assuming that that is Mikan, Hotaru?"

"Yeah, sorry mom."

Hotaru gets up from the table and opens the door.

"HOTA—" Mikan gets cut short when fists come hitting her in the head. The word "baka" emits from them.

A waterfall of tears comes out from Mikan's eyes.

"Hotaru~!" Mikan cries.

"Next time, don't knock that hard, stupid."

"Sorry Hotaru, but do wanna go to the park? It's open now! It's going to be so much fun!" Mikan shouts with excitement.

The only reply she receives was another 'baka fist' thrown at her.

"Hotaru~!" Mikan whines.

"I'll go, on one condition."

"What is it?" Mikan's eyes brighten up.

"That we go to the invention booth at Central Town."

Everyone just falls on the floor.

_~(^^)~_

"Okay guys, we're home!" Hiro calls out in the car, as the limo pulls into the driveway.

"We can tell dad," Natsume states.

"Not your mom, she's fast asleep it seems."

Natsume and Hiro look behind them, and see Kaoru sleeping soundly in her seat. She didn't even bother to go to the bed that is installed in the limo.

"Yo, wake up," Natsume says as he pokes her shoulder.

"Hmm, not yet, I want to eat more chocolate sweetie~"

The two guys sweatdrop.

Then, out of nowhere, Natsume gets a bucket of cold water, and dumps it onto his mom's face. She wakes up startled, and once she realized what was going on, she glares at her son.

"Sometimes son, I really wonder if you'd get a girlfriend with your attitude like that."

"If I do, at least her intelligence will probably be higher than yours."

"Clearly your standards are too high."

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, as a mother, I dream about being a grandpar—"

"Guys," Hiro whines, "can we go inside the house already?"

"Yeah yeah," Kaoru responds, while Natsume just walks into the house without another word.

_~(^^)~_

"Ruka honey, you are going to meet some new friends today when we get back!" The mom shouts excitedly in the car.

"I don't mind, but Natsume…"

"He already met one of them, don't worry about that."

"_I wonder how that might have went…" _Ruka thinks with a sweatdrop, _"I hope there weren't any fights like last time…"_

"_You're annoying."_

"_Should you be saying that to your sempai?"_

"_I don't care."_

"_Wait, don't you dare throw that glass at me Natsume."_

"_Ouch, that hurt!"_

_A sound of shattered glass is heard._

"_Son, what was that?" The mom of the boy who dodged the toy asks._

"_Uhh, nothing…"_

"_Young man, come here this instant. I want to have a word with you."_

"_Mom…"_

"_NOW."_

Ruka's train of thought is interrupted when his mom starts talking.

"Ruka, we're back. I'll get the butler to take the stuff out of the car. You can go find Natsume now."

"Thanks mom," Ruka replies with appreciation. With that, Ruka runs a few houses down to Natsume's.

_~(^^)~_

A knock is heard on Natsume's door, and Hiro walks to open it.

"Oh hey, you guys are back already?" Hiro asks the person at the door.

"Yeah, we just got back."

Natsume hears the familiar voice, and walks up to him.

"Hey Ruka, how was the trip?" Natsume asks.

"Interesting, the snakes are not as scary as it looks, you know," Ruka responds with a happy smile.

"You two, how about you go to meet Mikan and her friend? Mikan's mom told me they went to the park and are expecting you there soon."

"Who's Mi…ko?" Ruka asks.

"… Yeah that's her name," Natsume replies with sarcasm evident in his voice, "now let's go."

_~(^^)~_

"Hotaru, how was it? You got me a souvenir right?"

"No I didn't. Though the baka gun 0.54 I bought was just for you."

"You big mean—" Mikan sees two recognizable people in the distance and suddenly changes her subject.

"Natsume! Over here!" She yells while waving her hand. They were at a park that was closed for a while for repairs. It has finally reopened, and it is now more gorgeous than it was before.

Natsume, who heard Mikan, saw her frantically waking with joy, and started walking towards her and her friend.

"What? They found out about yo—" Natsume puts a wad of paper into his mouth.

"Be quiet, my little brat-of-a-sister told her," Natsume states bluntly with a sigh.

"Natsume, this is Hotaru."

"Miko, this is Ruka."

"Nice to meet you Miko."

"My name is Mikan," Mikan replies with a sweatdrop, then realizes that it is probably Natsume's doing, "wait, Natsume, my name is MIKAN! MI-KA-N! NOT MI-KO!"

"Yeah yeah polka-dots."

Mikan, who has fire in her eyes now, was furious.

"NA-TSU-ME!" She taunts and yells at the same time.

Baka fists hit her head, and she falls onto the floor.

"Sorry about my stupid friend here. So are we going to Central Town or not?"

Hearing Central Town, Mikan flies up.

"CENTRAL TOWN~! LET'S GO!"

More fists hit her head before they left.

_~(^^)~_

"Do I look good in this, Hotaru?"

"No. Never wear a hat with an actual peacock on it."

"What, it's real? AHHH!"

"Heh heh heh."

"Hotaru~!" Mikan cries as she realized that her best friend was just kidding with her.

"Where are your other two friends?"

"They're OUR friends, Hotaru. They're probably checking out talking cars or something."

"Rather that than this," Hotaru says as she sticks a skunk in front of Mikan's face.

"Nee Hotaru, is that real?"

"Yes." The skunk sprays her.

"AHHHH! EWW~!" Mikan cries as she runs out the store.

"Heh, real _invention _of a skunk's smell. It will disappear in a few minutes."

_~(^^)~_

"Natsume, I know you like music, but I can't say that you're good at the saxophone."

Ruka and Natsume are in a soundproof room trying out instruments.

"Thanks Ruka," Natsume replies sarcastically.

"Sorry, as a close friend of yours, I think I have to say that before you humiliate yourself."

Natsume grabs a pack of drumsticks and whacks him in the head with them.

"Ouch! That hurt Natsume. Well, at least I know you can play the drums?" When Ruka looked back, he sees that his friend has left the store already.

Ruka runs out to catch up to him, but instead, unexpectedly bumps into the person in front of him.

"Oh, sorry about that! Oh, Hotaru." Ruka replies with embarrassment. Hotaru just gives him a stoic look.

"Have you seen Mikan?"

"No. I just lost Natsume too," Ruka replies. "Wanna look for them together?"

"… Since I have nothing else to do."

_~(^^)~_

"Howalon, Howalon, Howalon… Aha! I found it! Howalon!" Mikan chants to herself as she was looking for the bakery.

"One large box please!" The box is handed to her, and Mikan gives them the money. "Keep the change!"

Mikan, eating the Howalons happily while walking, notices Natsume sitting on a bench. She decides to surprise him. Mikan creeps up behind him, and was about to scare him when she gets smacked in the face.

"Ow Natsume, that hurt!"

"Then don't creep up to me next time."

"How did you hear me with all of this noise?"

"My ears are sensitive."

"Oh right, because of your trai—"

"Bingo. Now do you want a prize?"

"YES PLEASE!" Another smack in the face was it.

"What is with people and smacking me in the face today? I'm going to lose brain cells like this!"

"You have some?"

"WHY YOU!— "

"Oh, found them Hotaru!" Ruka calls as he runs up to them. "Mikan, are you okay? It seems as if someone smacked you a couple times."

Natsume, for once in a loooong time, starts laughing. Ruka, surprised, joins in, while the two girls just look at them.

"_Hmm, Natsume looks nice when he laughs! Wait, what am I thinking? Shoo thoughts! He is stupid, arrogant, proud and a pervert!" _ Mikan contemplates to herself.

Afterwards, Mikan just joins in the laugh, with Hotaru taking pictures.

"_I'm going to be rich, heh heh."_

_~(^^)~_

"Wanna come to my house?" Ruka poses to his friends.

"Sure," Hotaru and Mikan reply at the same time.

Natsume doesn't reply, but like before, just walks towards the direction of his friend's house.

"I'm assuming that's a yes?" Mikan mentions.

"Oi, hurry up. It's getting dark," Natsume calls when he sees that his friends haven't moved yet.

"Coming!" Mikan shouts, and runs towards him.

"Seems that this'll be interesting," Ruka says to Hotaru.

"Yeah," Hotaru responds.

_~(^^)~_

"This place is huge!" Mikan screams.

"It isn't as big as your place though," Hotaru adds.

"Heh, then you don't want to see Natsume's house then..."

"Is it bigger than this?" Mikan asks. Hotaru emerges from the background about to shoot another baka fist at Mikan's head, but Ruka stops her.

"No, it's smaller. It's the size of a cardboard box," Natsume replies bluntly.

"... For some reason I don't believe you," Mikan rebuttals. That's when Hotaru shoots the fist.

**BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA**

Okay, I mean fist_**s**_.

"Stupid polka-dots, you went to my house a couple days ago."

"That wasn't even a house. It was like, a haunted house or something."

"You can't be stupider than this, Mikan," Hotaru says, irritated, as she wipes her baka gun.

"But but but, I can't imagine a house bigger than this…"

"… But _yours_ is bigger than this," Hotaru was literally about to slap her best friend in the face.

When Hotaru points at her, Mikan notices the necklace she was wearing like hers.

"Nee, Hotaru, did you always have that necklace?"

"No, my grandparents gave it to me over the trip."

She looks over to Ruka, who for some reason has the same one as her, Hotaru and Natsume.

"Ruka, you have one too?" Mikan yells in astonishment. "Why do all four of us have the same necklace?"

"I think this is a trend?" Ruka tries to calm the situation down a little notch.

"All of us have the exact same one, except for the color!"

Hotaru slips her little electronic laptop out.

"Hotaru, what are you doing?"

"Checking for the price of this necklace. Maybe I can sell it for a decent price."

Mikan and Ruka sweatdrop.

After what felt like a billion clicks, Hotaru stops, and looks to be having trouble.

"Imai, what's going on," Natsume bluntly asks.

"I can't find the necklace model."

"Maybe it is old?" Ruka questions.

"This has all information about models of everything."

"Then maybe this is really new?" Mikan asks.

"I would have found it already then," Hotaru replies and then closes her mini laptop. She sighs.

"Calm down, Imai. Because we are royals, this may be kept secret," Ruka tries to reassure her.

"No wait Ruka, think about it. When someone gave it to you, was there ever a tag on it? Mine didn't." Natsume tries to think if maybe he saw wrong. "I never bothered asking if it was a hand-me-down though."

"My mom gave me mine on my birthday. I never bothered to ask as well," Ruka responds to his friend's remark.

"Wait wait wait. Ruka, YOU'RE A ROYAL?" Mikan screams in shock.

Hotaru gives Ruka and Natsume a baka gun and they shoot her in the head with them.

**BAKABAKABAKA BAKABAKABAKA BAKABAKABAKA**

"Ruka sweetie, what was that noise?"

Natsume and Ruka throw the baka guns to Hotaru, just in time as Ruka's mom comes to them.

"Oh, I see you brought your friends!" Ruka's mom keeps in her excitement, but failing. "I shall get the maids to get the food ready."

"Ugh, mom…" Ruka facepalms.

"Here we go again…" Natsume sighs while rolls her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Mikan asks.

"I hope you guys like food, because my mom tends to make a little more when my friends come over, even if it is just Natsume."

"Oh, I feel guilty…" Mikan says in disappointment. She hasn't forgotten about trying to become a mature lady… well, she sorta forgot.

"Don't be. She'll give you more," Ruka responds with a sweatdrop and small laugh of embarrassment.

"Kids, they're ready!" Ruka's mom calls.

"O-KAY!" Mikan pulls Hotaru, while Ruka and Natsume walk slowly to the dinner table.

* * *

**Okay, I'm done for now! Please please review, and no flames please. :) Please read and review our other stories! Our updates about our stories are on our blog (homepage on profile).**

**Until next time,**

**Sakura-tan**


	6. VI: The Mature Senpais

**Aaaand I'm back with another chapter! Not much to say, but the story is going to get ever-so-slightly more intense from now on. ;)**

**Writer and Editor: Sakura-tan**

**Disclaimer: Let's do it the old fashion way. Gakuen Alice does NOT belong to me. It belongs to the awesome Higuchi Tachibana! -w-**

* * *

_**After the dinner, Natsume, Ruka, Hotaru and Mikan spent more and more time together. They were bonding friends, to the point where they are like family too.**_

_**However, little did they know that more people would join their gang…**_

* * *

_VI. The Mature Senpais_

* * *

"You two are their senpai, so you two need to be more mature than them."

"Yeah yeah. I can, but I don't know about the dude beside me."

"Of course I can act mature!"

"'Act'? Yeah, we're screwed."

"Oi oi, Misaki, stop pulling onto my ear!"

"Let's go and meet them, Tsubasa."

_~(^^)~_

"Sakura, get the ball!" The familiar boy with blond calls on the brunette.

"Where is it?" She shouts towards him. "Ugh, Natsume, you threw it too far again!"

"Well, you should have paid attention. It's a couple yards behind you," The friend of the brunette says to her as she is sitting on her lawn chair, drinking and looking at her mini-laptop, which is tracking where the ball she made is located.

"Ruka, can you help me look for it?" Mikan asks her other friend.

"Yeah, I am," Ruka calls back. "Natsume, your throwing skills improved it seems," Ruka says as he looks for the ball, to his best friend.

"No, you guys got worse at finding the ball. Don't depend on Imai's inventions," Natsume replies bluntly.

"Hmm, you called?" Hotaru asks as she packed up her "lawn chair and drinks" kit and drives towards them with her duck scooter.

"They can't find your ball," Natsume says to Hotaru.

"… I don't even need my GPS for this." Hotaru sighs. "Mikan, it's behind you."

"Eh?" Mikan turns around and sees the ball in the grass behind her. "Oh… I knew that!"

Everyone just sweatdrops. … Okay fine only Ruka sweatdrops.

All of a sudden, Ruka feels a pull on his cheek. Natsume runs and tackles the person who did it.

"Oh, it's the weirdo," Natsume realizes.

"Hey, I'm NOT a weirdo!" The culprit retorts, rubbing his head. "That hurt!"

"Tsubasa, you are a wierdo. Also, so much for 'acting mature to your kouhais…'"

"Sorry Misaki, but this crimson eyed boy always makes me think otherwise."

The girl hits Tsubasa on the head.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"You being stupid."

"We're still here, so-called 'senpais' of us," Natsume rebukes. Ruka just gives a small chuckle.

"Imai and Sakura, these two are our senpais. They're Andou Tsubasa and Harada Misaki." Ruka points to the guy and the girl respectively.

"Hello, I'm Sakura Mikan and my best friend here is Imai Hotaru." Mikan feels proud and feels like a lady from saying that sophisticatedly.

"You may be wondering how we know Ruka and Natsume. The answer is, we're royals," Tsubasa mentions with overconfidence.

"YOU ARE TOO?" Mikan screams with surprise. Hotaru "baka guns" her again.

"Mikan is the princess of the second largest sector, Hanakura," Misaki explains to Tsubasa, with irritation evident in her voice. Mikan, being the Princess of the second-largest sector, it is _impossible_ for people to _not_ recognize her. Well, _"nearly impossible"_ is the proper term now.

"Ohh, you're the girl? I heard the princess needs like 20 alarm clocks or something to wake up, and is still late," Tsubasa says in astonishment.

"… Yeah, that's me…" Mikan's eye twitches. _"This is what people see me as? I better start acting more maturely now!"_

"Nee, how did you two meet Natsume and Ruka?" Mikan asks Tsubasa and Misaki on a whim.

"Well, it was a funny encounter to be honest…" Misaki responds.

"No, it was stupid," Natsume retorts.

"Well, it was interesting," Ruka adds.

"Well, it started pretty much like this…" Tsubasa reminisces.

_~(^^)~_

_6 Years Ago, Hyuuga Mansion_

"Natsume and Aoi. Promise me that you two will behave when we get to their house."

"Who are these people? Why are we going? It doesn't seem that important," Aoi asks, as her mom slips her in a dress.

"They're planning on forming their own sector to take care of for us," Hiro replies.

"Why? We're fine taking care of this whole country ourselves…"

"No, we're not, and the reasons are for adults only. Now, you two, try to cooperate at their house."

"Fine," Natsume obliges.

"Yeah yeah yeah…" Aoi mutters afterwards.

_~(^^)~_

"Hello, Natsume, I want you to meet my son, Andou Tsubasa. He's a couple years older than you," Tsubasa's mom tells Natsume.

"Hello Natsume!" Tsubasa says with a happy smile.

"Hn."

"It seems that you two will get along fine! Have fun guys." Tsubasa's mom leaves to the kitchen, but stops and then looks back at them. "Oh by the way, Ruka and Tsubasa's friend is going to come soon as well. Introduce her to Natsume, Tsubasa."

"Yeah yeah yeah…" Tsubasa replies. His mom goes to the kitchen.

"So kiddo, what do you want to do? TV? Computer? You know, I got this cool game—" Tsubasa looks beside him to see that Natsume left already. He turns and sees Natsume playing the toy blocks.

"Hey, don't ruin the car that I already made!"

"I thought it was just a block of random pieces stuck together."

"Well, it wasn't. You broke it!"

"I used the pieces to make something that people can actually tell what it is."

"Natsume, are you behaving? And where is your sister?" Hiro, Natsume's dad, asks.

"She's playing with the dolls downstairs."

"Oh, okay. Just wanted to inform you that Ruka's here. Misaki's here as well."

"Who's Misaki?" Natsume asks his father.

"That's Tsubasa's friend."

"TSUBASA! YOU DITCHED ME TWO DAYS AGO!" Misaki shouts as she runs towards Tsubasa.

"Sorry, sorry sorry! I was trying to find the airplane you lost and then my mom dragged me into the house!"

"I had it with me… I was just tricking with you."

"You WHAT? I was looking for it for the longest time—" Tsubasa doesn't finish talking when he realizes that Misaki's laughing at him.

"Thanks, Misaki," Tsubasa says with complete sarcasm.

"No problem," She replies.

"Natsume!"

"Ruka," Natsume says with a tinge of happiness in his voice.

"Where's your sister?"

"She's downstairs with the dolls."

"Why are there dolls in this house? I thought Tsubasa was an only child."

"Because he's secretly a girl," Natsume whispers into Ruka's ear loudly, so that the other two can hear him. Natsume and Ruka stare at Tsubasa.

"What? No I'm not!" Tsubasa rebukes.

"So _that_ explains why you are always stealing my makeup!" Misaki teases.

"That wasn't me!" Tsubasa says, defenseless.

"Yeah, sure…" Misaki jokes. "Anyways, wanna go downstairs guys? It'd be bad for Aoi to be playing alone."

"Sure," Ruka replies, and drags Natsume with them down.

_~(^^)~_

Soon enough, it was dinner time.

"Kids! Dinner!" Misaki's mom calls them from downstairs.

"Okay!" Tsubasa and Ruka call at the same time.

"Natsume, let's go," Ruka calls before running to him and they walk up together. That leaves Tsubasa and Misaki downstairs.

"Clearly they're close. Natsume doesn't look like the person that would follow just anyone around like that," Misaki mentions to her friend as they glance at Natsume and Ruka going up the steps.

"Yeah, they're actually nice to each other," Tsubasa adds.

"They're more mature than us," Misaki agrees. Their head droops facing the ground and sweatdrops form overtop.

"We're terrible senpais."

"No duh."

_~(^^)~_

"Mmm, that was delicious!" Aoi compliments at the dinner table.

"She's right, the dinner was magnificent," Kaoru responds.

"Thanks, we put a lot of effort into this! Thank goodness it paid off," Tsubasa's dad responds.

"This is good, this is good, this is good—" Tsubasa gets cut off by his friend once again.

"Tsubasa, GROW UP!" Misaki commands.

"Hai!" Tsubasa snaps back to his seat. The parents just give them an amused look.

"I'm done," Natsume tells her parents.

"Same here," Ruka adds.

"You guys can go play now then. Be careful," Hiro advises.

"Okay," the two children respond.

"I'm done as well," Misaki says to her parents right before she leaves the dinner table.

"Wait for me Misaki!" Tsubasa stuffs the last piece of bread into his mouth and runs after her.

The parents sweatdrop.

"It seems that Misaki is going to have a boyfriend by post-secondary," Misaki's mom remarks.

"My son is going to get so spoiled with her." Tsubasa's dad laughs at his wife's statement.

"My son is really mean to girls, I realized. I just hope he gets married in the future," Kaoru responds.

"No worries about that, Ruka told me he is really nice once you get to know him," Ruka's mom answers.

"Not to girls, trust me," Hiro admits.

"I guess we'll just wait until that time comes," Ruka's dad concludes.

_~(^^)~_

"Stop taking the pieces that _I_ was going to take!"

"You're too slow then, baka face," Natsume sticks his tongue out at him and goes to drink a bit of his water that he left on the table in the toy room.

"I'm not stupid!" Tsubasa retorts.

"Yes you are," Misaki teases along with Natsume.

Tsubasa, for fun, takes Natsume's pieces and builds something with them.

Natsume notices, and walks in front of him, disregarding the fact that he is still holding the glass of water.

"You're annoying," Natsume says, irritated.

"Should you be saying that to your senpai?" Tsubasa counters.

"I don't care," Natsume had just about enough of his so called "senpai".

"…_Promise me that you two will behave when we get to their house." "…Fine." _ Natsume remembers the promise he made to his dad. He just squeezes his anger onto the glass.

Tsubasa, thinking that Natsume is going to throw the glass at him, says:

"Wait, don't you dare throw that glass at me Natsume."

Natsume didn't think about it _that_ way, but he was upset. Instead, he grabs a toy block and throws it at him.

"Ouch, that hurt!" Tsubasa shouts after getting hit in the arm with it. Natsume, not wanting to break the promise he made with his dad, threw it at the guy's arm.

Tsubasa, mad that his kouhai hit him, threw another block at him.

Then, a sound of shattered glass is heard. Thank goodness Natsume put the glass down when he picked up the block. The glass that he was drinking shattered from the impact of the toy block that Tsubasa was meaning to throw at Natsume lightly.

"Son, what was that?" The mom of the boy who dodged the glass calls from the kitchen.

"Uhh, nothing!"

"Young man, come here this instant. I want to have a word with you."

"Mom…"

"NOW," the mom demands.

"Ooooh, Tsubasa's in trou-ble~" Misaki jokes, while Tsubasa was walking out of the room. He glares at Misaki and then at Natsume, then leaves to his mom.

Misaki, Ruka and Natsume hear talking and occasional yelling, and then Tsubasa came back.

"That was fun, let's do it again!" He hollers, just loud enough that the parents in a few rooms down don't hear.

"Wait, with dolls this time, not toy blocks," Ruka tries to keep this 'party' down.

"Good enough," Natsume says bluntly as he picks up a doll.

"Whoever wins has to give the other ice cream the next time we meet."

"Deal."

_~(^^)~_

"Ruka, Natsume, Misaki! We have to go!" The parents shout.

Natsume wakes up, as he is a light sleeper, and the other two are still fast asleep.

"Mama, I'm tired," Aoi says to her while she rubs her eyes.

"Okay, you can sleep in the van, we have to go home."

"Oi Ru—" Natsume felt a hand on his shoulder before he could wake his best friend up.

"It's fine, we'll bring him to the car."

"..."

"Misaki, let's go," the dad calls his daughter.

"Okay," Misaki replies as she gets up. Their family leaves, and then Ruka's. Natsume's parents are still talking to the Tsubasa's parents, and then Aoi asks why they aren't going home yet.

"Oh, sorry Aoi," Kaoru says to her tired child. "We'll talk about this later, we have to go," Kaoru says quickly to Tsubasa's parents.

"Oh, no problem," Tsubasa's mom replies.

They exit the house, and they go into the car.

"How was it?"

"The guy was stupid," Natsume states. The parents sweatdrop.

"Do you think they can take care of their sector?" Hiro asks his son.

After a long time of thinking and silence, Natsume replies with one word.

"Yes."

The two parents smile, and start the car to go home.

_~(^^)~_

_Present Time, Backyard of Kiminatsu and Hanakura_

"Wow Natsume, you were mean even four years ago," Mikan sneers.

"Yeah, and violent…" Tsubasa rubs the part of his arm where the block was thrown. Everyone (except for Natsume and Hotaru of course) starts laughing.

"Anyways, I think it is getting a little bit late, should we go home?" Ruka asks.

"No," Hotaru commands. Everyone stares at her in confusion. She continues, "My parents want to invite you guys for dinner. They notified all of your parents already."

The senpais, Mikan and Ruka smile.

"Let's go!" Mikan runs up to Hotaru and they happily walk to her house.

_~(^^)~_

"Guys, let's implement the plan now, it may be too late. He has made more friends today," One man commands.

"Why didn't we do this before? He received his power a while ago," the other man replies.

"Time," the man responds. "So are we going to go or not?" The man's tone made that statement more of a command than a question.

"Of course, boss," one man obliges.

"Hyuuga Natsume, let's see how strong you are now," the "boss" sneers as he stands up from his desk.

* * *

**Next chapter is going to be a little more interesting, I hope. -sweatdrop-**

**If you think Gakuen Alice is awesome, review.**

**Until next time,  
Sakura-tan.**

**PS. Review our other stories too. Blog is on profile.**


	7. VII: Playing Matchmaker

**Hey everyone! I'm baaaaaaaack! ''orz. Okay, just a quick (but important) note, small details of the previous chapters have been edited. If something doesn't make sense, it may be fixed now. If it isn't, then feel free to notify me by review, pm or whatever. Thanks! :D**

**-Sakura-tan**

**Writer and Editor: Sakura-tan**

**Disclaimer: As one can clearly tell from this story, Gakuen Alice is obviously not mine. :) It belongs to Higuchi Tachibana.**

* * *

"_Day and Night, strange isn't it? The light takes over the dark, but then the dark takes over the light again," the young lady contemplates loudly to the person next to her._

"_No, the dark always gets conquered. Even with the dark, you have the moon and stars to keep everything bright," the young lad replies back._

* * *

_VII. Playing Matchmaker_

* * *

"Good morning, mom and dad!" Mikan shouts with joy to her parents.

"Good afternoon, you mean," the dad replies, on the laptop, sitting in the kitchen room. He takes off his glasses and closes the laptop, then looks at her. "Why did you wake up so late? You went to sleep earlier too."

"I guess I was really tired after playing with my friends," Mikan replies while grabbing milk from the fridge.

While Yukihira shrugs the thought off, Mikan is still pondering about the incident last night when she was about to go to bed.

"_It was really strange, once I got home, I felt all of the energy drain out of me. Everything I did, even brushing my teeth took twice the effort, and even changing into my pajamas felt like it took forever. Even after a full day of math lessons didn't tire me this much before."_

"Mikan, what are you doing?" Yuka yells at her, which brings her daughter back to reality.

"Wha?"

"You're spilling the milk onto your feet."

"Eh?" Mikan digests what her mom said slowly, but eventually. "Ahh!" Mikan screams suddenly.

Yuka facepalms.

"I'll clean it up, sorry mom," Mikan says with her usual outgoing voice.

"You better," Yuka states.

_~(^^)~_

"When is your sister coming back from Prince Youichi's place?" Mikan asks.

"Lost track," Natsume replies before sipping a bit of his bubble tea.

"Ruka, has he ever spoken without cutting off a conversation?" Mikan asks while glaring at Natsume.

A few seconds pass with no reply. Natsume and Mikan glance at Ruka who seems to be looking in the distance while mindlessly petting his rabbit.

"Ruka-pyon? Ruka-pyon~" Mikan repeats while waving her hand in front of his face.

"H-huh?" Ruka replies as she looks at them, bewildered at why his two friends were staring at him with questioning eyes.

"Ruka, you okay?" Natsume asks.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Ruka replies quieter than usual. He goes back at petting his rabbit, and his eyes shifts away from Natsume's. Natsume notices that it was unusual for his best friend to do this. He raises an eyebrow, and seeing no response from him, goes back to his book.

Mikan, obviously a more energetic person, can't stand sitting with them like this.

"Natsume, let's play hide and seek!"

"That's stupid. No," Natsume replies with irritation in his voice, not looking up once from his book.

"You know, even though we're 16, that doesn't mean we can't play little kid games. I still play this with my dad and Hotaru!"

"I feel bad for them."

"Why you—"

A deer hoof comes in contact with her cheek.

"At least Natsume feels something. His feeling is correct," Hotaru says bluntly to Mikan, after blowing off the top of her deer glove.

Hotaru looks at the still dazing Ruka and an unnoticeable tinge of blush appears on her cheeks. She subconsciously stares at the boy holding the bunny. She gears back from the trance when her best friend speaks.

"Hotaru, not you too?" Mikan sighs. "Ruka is out of it, and you are as well?" Mikan questions her friend.

Hotaru, disregarding her friend, walks up to Ruka, and hits him with her baka-gun.

"What was that for?" Ruka yells at her. Natsume takes note of this sudden outburst in the list of today's strange events with his best friend.

"You were concerning your friends," Hotaru says in an irritating voice, but an amount of concern is evident. "What is wrong with you?"

"Eh? What?" Ruka looks at his friends, well, more particularly Natsume and Mikan who are sitting on the grass behind the standing girl who just hit him. He purposely doesn't make eye contact with her and stands up.

"O-Oh, sorry, I don't feel well, I'm gonna go back home," Ruka stutters. With that, he turns and walks toward the direction of his house.

They look at the retreating figure, and no one speaks for what felt like years.

"Say anything and I'll hit you guys too," Hotaru aims the gun behind her, specifically at Mikan. Hotaru looks at the boy with the bunny with a worried expression, and the blush becoming more and more apparent on her face.

_~(^^)~_

"_Ugh, what _is _wrong with me? I unnoticeably made my friends worry," _Ruka thinks as he holds onto his pillow, lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. There is no doubt that he is trying to answer the question Hotaru asked before he sauntered away from them.

"_My heart beat speeds up to 100 beats a minute whenever I see Imai-san. My face heats up to the point where I think it's as red as a tomato." _Ruka buries his face into his about-to-burst pillow.

After a few more minutes of contemplating the source of his problem, his eyes open with shock and disbelief.

"_No way..."_

He lets the smile form on his face, and dozes into a quick nap.

_~(^^)~_

"Mikan, pass me the screw," Hotaru commands.

"Hai, master!" Mikan replies, acting like a soldier while giving her the screw.

It is now late afternoon, and the two girls and Natsume are at Mikan's house, more specifically, in the workshop directly below where Mikan's room is situated upstairs. While Natsume is busy reading a book he found in her house, Mikan and Hotaru are working on another invention of theirs... well Hotaru's invention, to be more exact.

"Wrench," Hotaru orders.

"Hai!" Mikan gives a stern reply and passes it to her.

After about an hour, Mikan's mom walks to their room.

"Hotaru, your parents are on the phone."

Hotaru stands up and Yuka hands her the phone.

"What," Hotaru says bluntly into the phone. Mikan just sweatdrops.

"_This is such a Hotaru thing to do..."_

After a few more exchanges of "Yeses", "Whys" and "Okays", Hotaru hangs up and packs up her things.

"I have to go home. I'll talk to you guys later." With that, she quickly leaves the room and the house.

An awkward silence ensues.

Mikan slowly turns to Natsume, who was sitting against the wall across from where they were working.

"No," Natsume suddenly states.

"I didn't say anything yet."

"You were about to."

"Well, I was about to ask about Ruka."

Natsume stops flipping the page in his book. Mikan seems to have hit a good topic for discussion. Natsume contemplates, sighs and then glances at her, dropping the page he was about flip and leaves the book on his lap.

"What," Natsume says in a similar fashion as Hotaru.

"Well, he seems to have acted strangely this morning, so I was wondering what might have happened the night before Hotaru and I left."

"Nothing happened, stupid. We just walked home."

"Hotaru acted strangely as well."

"How so."

"She actually looked really concerned about Ruka. Not only that but she froze when she saw him."

"Are you blaming my friend for doing something?"

"No! Not at all. It's just that, Hotaru acted strangely today. What is also weird, Ruka didn't take one glance at Hotaru today, even though she was right in front of him."

"_So she noticed it too."_ Natsume thought to himself.

"They both seemed fine until they saw each other," Natsume finally says. He gives one more sigh and then goes back to his book, leaving Mikan to ponder on the evidence she mentioned and what Natsume just said.

"That's what you call _love_," a sudden voice from behind said.

"Ahh!" Mikan screams before she looks back. "Oh, Tsubasa-senpai."

"Yep, they're probably in love with each other without knowing," Misaki adds as she catches up to Tsubasa.

"If that's the case, then we should play matchmaker for them!" Mikan declares with a determination.

"No," Natsume and Misaki respond at the same time.

"Well, I'll be glad to help." Tsubasa walks toward Mikan. "We need to think of a plan though."

"Tsubasa, I know for a fact that you will do something stupid so I guess I'll join in." Misaki sits down and joins the "circle".

The three of them just looks at Natsume, who is still reading his book. Feeling that three pairs of eyes are looking at him, he looks up with a face of no interest.

"Natsume, you should join in! We need to have two people per group, or that one person will need bodyguards."

If one is a royalty, unless there is another person with them (they have to be trusted by the royal families), they need bodyguards for safety reasons.

Natsume, realizing there is no use in opposing, closes his book, stands up and joins the group. The other three smile and start the conversation.

_~(^^)~_

"Here. Since there are four people in our family, we would have four of them," Natsume throws three of the four walkie talkies to Mikan, who passes them out to their senpais. Natsume yawns as he waits for his friends to all have walkie talkies.

It was morning, and they all had breakfast at Mikan's house. Mikan's parents decided to let Misaki and Tsubasa stay over at their house. It was late by the time they finished discussing the plan. Natsume's house was just a couple blocks away, so he was able to walk home—with a couple bodyguards of course. However, Mikan called him early in the morning to come to her house to have breakfast, and bring some of the supplies like walkie talkies.

"Thank goodness Natsume, I thought we would have to go by our intuition," Misaki says with a sigh of relief.

"They're so tiny!" Tsubasa remarks. They're small black squares, with a couple buttons on them on the side.

"They're meant to clip onto your pocket, where you can hide them into as well." Natsume rolls his eyes.

Once everyone has them, he instructs them on one more thing.

"There are two switches on the side. The larger black one is to communicate with the others, and the smaller is to call my house in case of emergency. You press down on the large switch when it's toggled on to send a message. Let go to listen what people are saying."

They turn the large switch on, and Mikan speaks into it, to see how it works.

"Testing! Testing! One, two, three!" It was loud and clear.

"That's amazing! I should ask my parents for this." Tsubasa awes at the device. Misaki hits his head.

"Stick to the plan now, stupid!" She yells.

"Yeah yeah..."

"It's 11:30. Natsume, did you call Ruka?" Mikan asks him.

"Yeah."

"And I called Hotaru already. They're probably expecting us now."

"Let's go," Tsubasa commands.

_~(^^)~_

**Step 1. Find a way to somehow leave the group.**

"Ruka! Hotaruuu!" Mikan hollers with her usual happy-go-lucky voice as she and Natsume walks up to them.

"You guys are late," Hotaru replies, who is clearly irritated. Ruka was standing beside her, who seems to be twiddling his thumbs. He was attempting to not make eye contact with anyone.

"Sorry! It's just that uhh, there are some things that Natsume and my family has to deal with, so we were late. Ah! Speaking of which, Natsume and I have to go in about half an hour to uhh... to uhh..." Mikan clearly didn't think through what she was about to say.

"... call my sister. She seemed to be eager to talk to Mikan the last time my family called her. It got really annoying." Mikan gives a small breath of relief, looking at Natsume with a "thanks" clearly gleaming on her face.

"Oh, uh, then what about us?" Ruka asks.

**Step 2. Get something that the two possible lovebirds can do together.**

"Our family had two spare tickets to the amusement park down the street." Then, Mikan hands Ruka the tickets, not wanting to face the possible wrath of her best friend. She is not a person who can be easily convinced. When Mikan glances at her however, she seems to be playing along. A small tint of red was appearing on her face. It seems that Mikan is the only one who notices.

"_So this is what it is like to be in love,"_ Mikan thinks and gives a gentle smile.

"Sorry about this, guys," Mikan finally says.

In exactly half an hour, Natsume and Mikan leaves the group.

**Step 3. Look at how this plan plays out and find ways to get the two to confess, without them noticing they were set up.**

When they were at a distance where they can barely even see the two figures, Mikan finally breaks the silence between her and Natsume.

"Thanks for saving me back there," Mikan starts.

"What do you mean?" Natsume rebuttals as he looks into the forest, where they were walking towards. They were taking a small shortcut towards the amusement park, and are planning on staying hidden in there. Misaki and Tsubasa are on their way as well.

"Making the story about Aoi wanting to talk to me," she replies.

"That wasn't a save. She really wants to talk to you." Natsume's cellphone vibrates just in time.

"That can't be..." Mikan sweatdrops.

"Yeah it's her. I told her to call back in 2 hours after I left the house."

"Oh, you're good," she jokes with him as he hands her his cellphone.

"Aoi! How are you?" Mikan greets.

"Hey Mikan! It seems you have got really close with Natsume the few months I was gone!"

"Mhmm! I can't wait to see you in a few weeks!" Mikan says with excitement.

"You don't have to wait that long. I wanted to call to say to you that I'll be back in a few days."

"EH? A FEW DAYS?" Mikan screams. Natsume hits her head.

"Shut up. You'll ruin the plan," Natsume growls with irritation.

"Sorry, sorry," Mikan whispers back.

"Ahaha, looks like you guys are having fun. Anyways, I have to go, and it seems that you have to too."

"Oh, okay. I can't wait to talk to you again! When you're back, I mean."

"Of course! Have fun!" Not long afterwards, Aoi hangs up and then Mikan does so as well.

Mikan passes the phone back to Natsume, and they continue walking to their spot. They notice that Tsubasa and Misaki are already there.

"There you guys are! I was about to use the talkies to ask if the plan was off or something!" Misaki scolds.

"Sorry, sorry, Natsume's sister called me," Mikan confesses.

"Aoi? How's she doing?" Tsubasa asks Natsume.

"Ask her when she comes back in a few days. Stick to the plan stupid people." With that, Mikan took her binoculars out and looks for Hotaru and Ruka. After a few scans, she notices them sitting on a bench. They had some distance between them, and they were looking opposite ways.

"So, what should we do?" Tsubasa asks as he, along with the others, saw Ruka and Hotaru.

"Hmm, Misaki, how about getting them to go on a roller coaster ride or something?" Tsubasa suggests.

"Oh, good idea. You're coming with me." Misaki pulls onto Tsubasa's arm and they are just about to leave when Mikan's voice stops them.

"Wait! How are you going to do that?"

"Easy. Look in front of us." Misaki points northwest of where she is facing. There sat two costumes, one red, one blue.

"I call blue!" Tsubasa chimes.

_~(^^)~_

"You did awesome, Tsubasa!" Misaki laughs to the point where tears have formed on the corner of her eyes. They took off their bunny heads, so their heads were exposed.

"It was _your_ fault!" Tsubasa retorts.

"What happened?" Mikan asks as she puts a card on top of the others. "Aha, I win!" She shouts at Natsume.

"No you didn't."

"Wha—hey! You cheated!"

"No I didn't, stupid. You weren't paying attention."

"Well whatever!" Mikan replies back and then glances back up at her two senpais. "What happened?"

"So, we managed to get them onto many of the rides," Misaki responds, "but they made Tsubasa do the chicken dance. Hotaru took a lot of the pictures and then sold them to people passing by. It was so funny, especially in that bunny suit where you can't do anything in it!"

"That was not funny!" Tsubasa yells with embarrassment. "_You_ suggested that idea to them too!"

"You should've seen your face when she started taking pictures."

"Hmph." Tsubasa crosses his arms.

"Did they confess to each other at all?" Mikan asks.

"No, they didn't." Misaki crosses her arms as well and sits down. "We're dealing with two stubborn people. We even made them go on the swan ride thing too. It said 'perfect for couples' on the sign, so..."

"Wait, how can you tell whether they confessed or not, stupid," Natsume asks.

"They would hold hands, or show signs of them being a couple, at least. They were as awkward out as they were in," Misaki answers with a sigh.

"Well, I guess we should execute another idea th—" Tsubasa stops when they hear two familiar voices.

"What are you guys doing here? I thought you two were busy," Ruka asks them, while Hotaru glares at them.

**Step 4. If Ruka and Hotaru finds out… run like the wind if the situation calls for it.**

"Well, w-we were finished our work early, so we were about to meet you g-guys, actually," Mikan replies with sweatdrops forming on her forehead.

Hotaru, knowing that she is a terrible liar, realizes right away. She glares at the other three, expecting an explanation. Instead, Tsubasa and Misaki point to Mikan, while Natsume just... sits there. Ruka and Hotaru can already tell that Natsume was dragged into this by the others.

"Mikan, you better run," Hotaru growls as she takes out her two super baka-guns, and hands one to Ruka.

Mikan subconsciously grabs Natsume's wrist and sprints off, dragging him behind her.

Seeing two of the four had fled, Hotaru and Ruka glare at Tsubasa and Misaki, aiming their baka-guns at the two.

"Wait wait, are you two together now?" Tsubasa asks.

"_Well, you really got straight to the point," _Misaki yells in her mind, trying to resist punching him in the face.

At this, the two "lovebirds" blush and turn away from each other.

"Wait, I'm assuming this is a yes?" Tsubasa is very confused.

"W-well, we confessed w-when we were in the s-swan ride..." Ruka stutters.

Tsubasa and Misaki look at each other and facepalms.

_~(^^)~_

"Oi, polka-dots stop running!" Natsume growls in irritation and annoyance.

Instead, she let's go of Natsume's hand, and continues running by herself.

"_What the heck is wrong with her?"_ Natsume thinks as he rubs his wrist, where Mikan was holding onto for the whole time.

Afterwards, he glances at his surroundings. He realizes that Mikan dragged him to their backyard, where no one—other than Mikan's and his family—are allowed, unless they have special permission (like Ruka and Hotaru. Even then though, a member of either Mikan's family or Natsume's family has to be present with them).

There were trees all around him, nothing out of the ordinary. He however, with his super senses, can feel that something is not normal. He puts a wall of fire around him, not to only protect him, but to show he knows that there are people behind the trees. He secretively toggles the two switches on the walkie talkie as he waits.

"Well done Natsume, as expected of the Prince of Kiminatsu." A tall, buff man emerges from the trees.

"Shut up."

"Why? We just wanted to ask you something, as a member of the most powerful royal family."

"You're not allowed here. You're trespassing on Hyuuga property."

"Then come with us," the man sneers.

"No." Natsume wills his power towards the man's face. He just barely manages to dodge it.

"Fine, be that way." The man snaps his fingers, and men suddenly surround Natsume, aiming guns at him from all around. Natsume doesn't move his body, but his eyes quickly scan the situation.

"Come with us, and you'll be unharmed, Hyuuga. If not, you'll have to face the consequences."

_With this, the wheels have finally turned._

* * *

**Review if you want the next chapter to come. I'm not posting until I get at least one. -Evil glint in eyes like Hotaru-**

**-Sakura-tan**


	8. VIII: The First Battle

**Writer and Editor: Sakura-tan.**

**Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice doesn't belong to me. It belongs to Higuchi Tachibana.**

* * *

_VIII. The First Battle_

* * *

"_Phew, I'm tired from all of that running," _Mikan contemplates as she sits on the grass in her backyard.

When Hotaru advised her to run (in the taunting way), she ran like the wind, like what they planned. Subconsciously though, she grabbed Natsume and ran.

"_Why did I do that?" _Mikan thinks. _"Of all people, I, for some odd reason grabbed _him_? The senpais were sitting closest to me too... Well, I guess it's just through force of habit to grab him, since I am very close to him—WAIT MIKAN, DON'T GET TO THE WRONG CONCLUSION. IT WAS JUST A WEIRD REFLEX." _

Mikan turns her head frantically, getting the thought out of her head. Not only that, but relieve her from the heat that she feels on her face and to calm her heart that's beating like mad.

"_I guess I should figure out where I am..." _Mikan looks at her surroundings. They are just trees, trees, and more trees. _"I guess I'll just walk and find something that looks familiar." _

She does exactly that. Soon, she finds out that she is in her and Natsume's backyard. After a while, she gets back to where Hotaru and the others were still sitting. They haven't moved from the spot where she sprinted off with Natsume.

"Well well, the idiot came back," Hotaru says without looking behind her.

"Hehehe..." Mikan replies. She sits down with them.

"Mikan, I told them the whole story," Tsubasa says, with a trace of guilt in his voice.

"WHY?" Mikan shouts, standing up. She gets ready to face the fury of her best friend, and even Ruka.

"Hey, don't worry, the plan worked." Misaki hopes that what she says will calm Mikan down.

"Oh, that's good then!" Mikan sits on the grass once again. "When did the two of you confess?"

"Well, funny story actually," Tsubasa responds. "They confessed in the swan ride."

"Wait, I thought you told us they didn't," Mikan says, surprised.

"Well, clearly we shouldn't become matchmakers when we grow up, hehehe..." Mikan sweatdrops.

"Mikan, where's Natsume?" Ruka asks when the previous discussion finished.

Everyone's head just turns to Mikan. She takes a little while to answer.

"Oh, I released him when I ran into our backyard. I assumed that he would walk back here..." Mikan gives a delayed response. She can't help but feel uneasy all of a sudden. _"He's fine,"_ she chants in her head, _"he probably went back home or something."_

"He would usually notify me in some way where he would be going..." Ruka replies with a little concern in his voice. _"This has happened before. Don't tell me..."_

The other three people look at Ruka and Mikan with questioning eyes, as they try to figure out why they have their serious masks on all of a sudden. Misaki breaks the silence.

"Well, no worries, we can just ask where he is with the walkie talkie," she says as she lifts it up.

"Oh, good idea," Ruka's face brightens up a bit.

Mikan, quick as a flash, has her walkie talkie out, on her hand. She holds down the switch to speak into it.

"Hey Natsume, we're just wondering where you are, over."

Stillness is their only reply.

The senpais' eyes grows.

"Wait, just wait a little longer." Tsubasa tries to look on the more positive side. "He's probably just joking with us."

"Tsubasa, never in my life has he made us concerned about him like this," Misaki replies, her patience diminishing. The two senpais knew Natsume well enough to know that he was truly a nice guy, never making his friends worry over him. Even in "small" situations like this.

Ruka takes Misaki's walkie talkie, and holds down the button. Clearly he has used these before.

"Hey Natsume, where are you? Don't tell me that something happened again." Ruka stutters off on the last three words. "Don't scare me like this..." The last sentence is barely audible.

His only response are four pairs of eyes looking at him. They are eagerly wondering what he is talking about.

A thought suddenly flows into Mikan.

"_... my parents have been advising him to train at least 4 times a week for a couple of hours to improve his 'fire power'."_

"_Why would Natsume's parents make him train if there is no need?" _Mikan ponders. "_For fun? No, Natsume's parents don't seem like the people that would make him do it for that reason. Fire is not a power suited for that anyways. It seems too excessive as well. _Four_ times a week for two hours?"_

Mikan, feeling scared for Natsume's possible safety, stands up, with her hands on her mouth.

"_Don't tell me that something happened again,"_ Mikan remembers what Ruka quietly said into the walkie talkie. He clearly had desperation in his voice when he said that.

"_No, this can lead to only one thing that I can possibly think of,"_ Mikan contemplates.

"Mikan, calm down, what's wrong?" Hotaru snaps her back to reality. She's holding onto her dear friend's arm, after getting no response from her the first time she called out to her. She has never seen Mikan this scared in her life. "You know, he may just be walking back slowly for all we know." At this point, Hotaru is just trying to cool her friend down.

"He would be back already," Ruka retorts, his face undoubtedly showing worry. However, it was calmer than Mikan's.

"Well, has he replied yet through the machine?" Hotaru asks the others.

"No, nothing," Tsubasa replies. "It was as if he turned it off or something."

Mikan's face turns red, and her heart beat speeds up, and that was not only from what Tsubasa said.

"Tsubasa, you're so stupid! That clearly didn't calm Mikan down!" Misaki yells with anger.

Mikan suddenly turns, and was about to break into a sprint towards her backyard when her friend roughly squeezes her hold on her arm.

"Mikan, tell me what you think is going on." Hotaru looks at her with stern eyes. Mikan can clearly tell that she is not going to let go until she tells her what she is thinking.

_~(^^)~_

Quiet pants are heard down deep in the "foresty" backyard.

"Natsume, you never give up now do you?"

"Shut up."

"You know, I have more people on backup. I'll use them if it can just make you come with me."

"No." Fire was emitted in all directions, towards the guns that are aimed at him.

Wave after wave of people in black suits are trying to take a shot at him. Natsume was too quick—both speed-wise and attacking-wise—for them. One blink and they can be knocked unconscious from behind.

Natsume's agility and endurance scares a lot of them, and they just run away. This is fine for Natsume, who doesn't have to deal with as many of them. Finally, the waves start slowing down, and it comes down to one person: the _"boss"._

"You may have knocked out all of my army, but you're still human. You'll collapse anytime," the man replies with a sneer.

"_It's true," _Natsume reflects, _"he may win this thing yet. However, he doesn't know that I have another trick up my sleeve."_

_~(^^)~_

Mikan and her friends are sprinting as fast as they can towards where she released Natsume. The company obliged to go with her after hearing the unbelievable conclusion she said.

_~(^^)~_

"**Mikan, tell me what you think is going on." Hotaru looks at her with stern eyes. Mikan can clearly tell that she is not going to let go until she tells her what she is thinking.**

"This may sound really idiotic, but I think that he encountered some trouble," Mikan replies.

"Mikan, you're thinking too hard. This type of stuff doesn't happen here," Tsubasa says.

"Well, then explain to me why Natsume has to—" Mikan stops abruptly when she remembers that with the exception of her and Natsume's family, they don't know about Natsume's fire power.

Unfortunately, the four notice and wonder why she halted in the middle of her sentence. Ruka knows however, loud and clear.

"Mikan, you can tell them." Mikan looks at Ruka with surprised eyes.

"You expect me not to about Natsume's training?" He says out loud, purposely so that Hotaru, Tsubasa and Misaki can obviously hear.

"Wait, what's going on?" Tsubasa asks.

Ruka and Mikan tell them the whole story, where Natsume was given a strange fire power, and what his parents suggests him to do with it. Ruka doesn't say any more than that, however.

"What does that have to do with this current hypothesis though?" Misaki asks.

"Well, think about it," Mikan answers. "Do Natsume's parents seem like the people who would force their son to do this?"

Misaki and Tsubasa shake their heads.

"Do Natsume's parents seem like the people who would make him train for eight hours a week for no reason, other than to 'improve his skills'?" Mikan asks.

"No," Tsubasa replies out loud. "So that would mean that they are making him do it to protect himself."

"Exactly. Also, Natsume is not replying to his walkie talkie, _as if it was turned off,_" Mikan includes.

Tsubasa nods, remembering what he said.

"He would have notified us in some way if he wasn't coming back," she concludes. She doesn't think that there is a need to mention her suspicions about what Ruka said. She doesn't want to get too personal. With the way Ruka said it, he doesn't seem to want the others to know about it.

Ruka nods, remembering what he mentioned to the others.

"Okay, so then what are we going to do?" Misaki requires, as she stands up, and gets out of her bunny suit. Tsubasa does the same.

"Instead of thinking, let's go find Natsume," Hotaru retorts. She loads her baka-gun, looks at the others and stops at Mikan. "Mikan, lead the way."

Mikan nods in agreement.

_~(^^)~_

"Mikan, in the span of three minutes you ran, boy did you run far..." Tsubasa remarks as they are all trying to keep up with her.

"Well, I was always one of the fastest runners in my grade when I was younger!" Mikan replies with her outgoing voice, temporarily forgetting the situation at hand.

After a little more while of running, Mikan comes to a halt, and the other four follow.

They hear noises not far from them, noises too familiar to Mikan. She recognizes them immediately because of the accidental-encounter that had happened on her first visit to Natsume's house.

"Huh, you're one smart kid, Hyuuga."

The five friends look at each other, listening even more attentively.

A familiar voice growls back.

"Shut your trap. Get out of here. The officials are going to be here soon."

Natsume creates a narrow, but tall wall of fire around the boss, distracting him. Then, as quick as a cheetah, jumps and hits him in the face with his foot.

The boss just retorts by mindlessly shooting in the air with his gun, hoping to do some damage to the sneaky lad.

**BOOM BOOM BOOM**

"Natsume!" Mikan can't contain herself anymore. Their short cover has been blown. "Are you okay?"

"Mikan, you idiot! He's fine!" Hotaru hollers, coming out from the trees. The senpais and Ruka come out of their hiding place as well.

Now that Mikan looks at him, he has a few scratches on him, nothing really major. She calms down.

"Oh, I see. These are the officials you called for? Your little friends?" The man sneers.

"Shut. up." Natsume lights a large fireball in his hand and rapidly throws it towards the boss's face. Again, the man just barely manages to dodge it. Natsume puts a wall of fire around his friends for protection.

"What are you guys doing here?" He growls as he faces towards them, while he is "willing" the fireballs toward the big, gruff man some distance behind him.

"You weren't replying to the talkie! We were worried about you!" Mikan cries.

"Well, you should've just gone about your own business!" Natsume retorts.

"Natsume, I'm sorry. I made them worry," Ruka admits, trying to calm the situation down.

"Ruka..." Natsume says, feeling a small tinge of guilt.

"Natsume, we're your friends, and I lo—" Mikan stops in the middle of her sentence once again.

"_No Mikan! No! You _don't_ love him! Even if you do, why are you suddenly saying it now? It's not the time for this!"_

"Natsume, behind you!" Mikan screams when she snaps out of her trance.

No, there is no way that Natsume can dodge it, even with his quick reflexes. By impulse, Mikan suddenly runs out of the wall of fire and hugs tightly onto Natsume, hoping that the gunshot will at least hit her, and not her close friend. This action throws Mikan and Natsume onto the ground.

She waits and waits for the pain, but feels nothing abnormal. Instead, she just hears astonished voices.

"N-no way..." the "boss" just stutters, and then runs away from the gang. Well, limping away to me more exact.

"Mikan, Natsume!" Ruka hollers as the others run up to the two. They were still on the ground, Mikan holding onto Natsume tightly. When Mikan realizes this, she quickly gets off of him, and her face reddens like mad. Natsume gets up afterwards, who turns his face so that the others would not see his small blush.

"Mikan, that was amazing! How did you deflect the fire and the gunshot?" Tsubasa asks, astounded.

"W-wha?" Mikan clearly isn't thinking straight. "Deflect a gunshot"? That's completely out of her vocabulary.

"Mikan. Look at yourself. You don't have any wounds," Hotaru points out.

"What?" Mikan looks at her feet, expecting burn marks on them, since she walked through Natsume's fire. Then, seeing nothing, feels the rest of her body, feeling nothing wrong.

"You deflected the gunshot," Ruka adds. "It was about to hit your back, but for some reason it just dropped dead onto the floor."

Mikan's brain cannot seem to process the scene that is taking place. It just seems too... weird. So, she just stands there, staring at them. Natsume finally speaks.

"Mikan, take out your necklace."

"O-oh, uh sure," she stutters. She takes her necklace out from her pocket. That gives the reaction that Natsume expected from her.

"Whoa!"

It was a bright mandarin orange, as opposed to the light faded orange when she last noticed.

Ruka points to the necklace and looks at his best friend.

"Natsume, does that mean..."

"Yeah. Her power has been activated."

"That's so cool!" Mikan shouts with joy.

The friends smile, happy to see the joyful Mikan again. Natsume and Hotaru were exceptions though, of course.

"Wait, we let that criminal person run away," Misaki mentions.

"The officials will get them soon." As if he has the power of "fortune telling", sirens are heard not too far away.

The friends laugh at Natsume's accuracy, and they are about to walk to Mikan's house when they hear the oh-too-memorable voices.

"Natsume! Are you okay?" Aoi sprints through the forest with her parents.

"Natsume, don't you dare die on me!" Kaoru yells, dropping to the worst conclusion. Everyone just sweatdrops.

"Aoi! You're back already? I thought you were coming back in a few days!" Mikan wonders.

"Well, I was done my work there already, so Youichi said that I should come back a few days earlier," Aoi replies. She walks up to her older brother. "Are you okay though? We were still in the jet when your butler called us about the situation."

"I'm fine," was the only reply Natsume gave. Natsume's family gives a sigh of relief.

"Oh and also, Youichi came along with us. He wanted to see his 'onii-chan' again," Aoi adds, smiling.

Mikan, Hotaru and the senpais look at Natsume with amusement.

"Oh I see Natsume. You're actually an overprotective older brother who simply adores little kids!" Mikan shouts.

The response she receives is fire on her plaid skirt.

"AHH!" Mikan shrieks. "Shield! Protect! Uhh, Reflect! Disable!" She's trying to find the word that would enable her power, while she was trying to get rid of the fire.

The gang just facepalms, while Natsume's family just looks at them quizzically.

"Nullify!" Mikan finally shouts, and the fire disappears. "Yes!"

Kaoru, Hiro and Aoi looks at them with shock.

"Natsume," Hiro looks at his son, "did she...?"

"Yeah. Look at her necklace."

The three pairs of eyes look at what Natsume mentioned.

"Whoa! So she has a power, just like Natsume?" Aoi asks her mom.

"Yep. That's great! Mikan, be sure to tell this to your parents!" Kaoru responds.

"Of course! This is something that I should tell them," Mikan answers back. "Even if I didn't tell them though, they would figure it out eventually." Mikan sweatdrops. Clearly she had experiences where she tried to keep a secret from them, but failed miserably.

Mikan's phone rings just in time, and she picks up.

"Hello?"

"Sakura Mikan! Where are you? We've been calling you countless times!" Yuka hollers into the phone. Mikan puts the phone farther away from her ears until she knows that her mom has stopped yelling.

"Well, that's a looooooong story," Mikan replies.

"Well, you have a looooooooong time to tell us, so come home this instant."

"Fine..." Mikan closes her phone right after. "I have to go. My mom almost killed me on the phone."

"As expected. They called us while we were on the private jet, asking if we knew where you were." Kaoru then pushes Natsume and Aoi towards their limo, then turns back again to face the group of kids.

"Do you guys need a ride?"

The kids look at each other, and nod simultaneously.

"Okay, then hop in!"

_~(^^)~_

"And that's what happened," Mikan informed her parents during dinner. She told them the whole situation where they made a plan to get Ruka and Hotaru together, and that Natsume was attacked by this scary man. She didn't mention her constant thoughts about her possibly having a crush on Natsume, nor did she mention how exactly they realized the situation Natsume was in.

"Oh, that's great that you guys managed to get to him in time." Yuka puts a spoonful of rice in her mouth.

"Yeah, that was good," Yukihira agrees.

"Wait, why are you guys not surprised?" Mikan asks. She thinks that any parent that learned that their child was in grave danger might be freaking out, or worse.

Yuka eyes her husband, and they give each other a nod in agreement. She puts down her spoon, and they both look at her with a solemn face. Mikan has seen this face before; this only happens when she her parents want to tell her disappointing or unfortunate news.

"Mikan. Natsume has faced this for years," Yuka tells her.

"W-what? What do you mean?"

"Stuff like this has happened ever since you guys were young. Natsume has faced these tough situations before," Yukihira rephrases.

"W-what?" Mikan starts to connect the pieces together.

"_Don't tell me that something happened again," _Mikan thinks again. Ruka must've realized the situation right away, because something like this occurred before.

She can't imagine herself having these occurrences even once in her life. But two years? Three? Maybe even five? She almost went insane today, fearing for her life, even though it was _Natsume's _life that was in grave danger. Why would people want to kidnap an innocent child?

Mikan stands up, furious.

"Why has something like this never happened to me? Why do people want to kidnap a ruler's innocent son? WHY?" She states in a really impatient manner.

"Mikan, calm down," Yuka advises her.

"Yeah, listen to your mom. We'll tell you after you've calm down," Yukihara adds.

"No! How do you expect me to be content knowing that my best friend's life has been completely ruined because of this stuff? Maybe even _two_ of them!" She shouts, her anger along with every single word. She thinks back to the hurt that Ruka was experiencing, even though _he _was never the one to be in danger, but his best friend.

"Mikan. Sit down," Yuka bluntly commands. Although both she and her husband are astounded that their daughter can get this angry because of Natsume's life, they were expecting it to come sooner or later. However, the anger that she's emitting makes it seem as if her _lover_ was in danger or something. "We will not say anything to you until you calm down."

Mikan finally releases her anger with a big breath in and out, and sits down.

"We're sorry for not telling you this about Natsume. We were planning on telling you as you got older. Clearly, it we may have told you a little bit too late. Your mother was thinking to tell you in a few days, actually." He continues after making sure that Mikan is on the same page as him.

"Now Mikan, to answer your questions. The reason why it never happened to you is because, even if they overtake our sector, remember that Natsume's family is much, much more powerful than us. They can make them step down from their power as soon as they get into it."

"Your father's correct. Not only that, but you know, it was not until just a little while ago was our sector formed. We were just an ordinary middle class family like everyone else when you were 10."

Mikan just nods in agreement towards her parents, fiddling with her spoon that's in her miso soup.

"Now, your second question. 'Why do people want to kidnap Natsume'? It seems pretty straightforward. They want to obtain supremacy. If they manage to overtake the current rulers of Kiminatsu, they can pretty much rule all over this country." Yukihara takes a sip his soup.

"Then why haven't they tried to take Aoi?" Mikan asks. She suddenly wishes she didn't ask this, not wanting to feel even more upset about their situation.

"She's not the next ruler of Kiminatsu, Natsume is. Well, technically, she is still going to rule, but Natsume is going to have a lot more power over the land than her." Yuka stops talking, and awaits for more questions from her daughter.

"I see then," Mikan speaks in a quieter tone. She looks down. She doesn't feel any more content after receiving this information from her parents. It just feels... so wrong.

"I know this is a lot to take in all of a sudden," Yuka finally says, "but this is why we wanted to tell you as you get older."

"But... this whole thing... is just wrong," Mikan says.

"I know, but—" Yuka halts in midsentence when the phone rings.

"I'll get it," Yukihara offers. He walks toward the phone and picks it up.

"Hello?"

"_Hi, this is Kaoru. Sorry for intruding during your dinner time," Kaoru responds._

"Oh hi Kaoru," Yukihara greets. "It's okay, we were just explaining to my daughter about the details about what happened to Natsume.

"_Oh, that's good, I'm happy that you two finally got around to it!"_

Yukihira sweatdrops.

"_But anyways, that's not what I called to talk about." _There was a small pause, but Kaoru continues.

Yukihira's eyes widen. Yuka and Mikan look at him, wondering why Natsume's mom would call at a time like this, and what could the news possibly be.

"Oh, it's fine, it's fine! Don't worry about that at all! We can always postpone work until later, but health you can't. Don't worry about it; we'll deal with the paperwork."

Mikan and Yuka glance at each other.

"No worries. I hope your son gets better. We'll talk later," Yukihira finally says, and drops the phone back on the receiver. Once he drops it, he realizes that he shouldn't have mentioned Natsume. Yuka looks at his husband with shock, while Mikan feels as if a 10 pound weight had just dropped on her. The parents' heads snap at Mikan.

Mikan suddenly feels another wave of grief hitting her, and runs to her dad.

"Natsume. What's wrong with him? Is he okay? Is he? Please tell me he's fine!"

Yukihira looks at her daughter with eyes showing what he is about to say next is not a joke.

"Mikan. He collapsed."

* * *

The next chapter isn't coming until I get at least one review for this one. Blog is on Homepage, and read and review our other stories as well please! C:

-Sakura-tan


	9. IX: Get Well Visit

**Writer and Editor: Sakura-tan**

**Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice does not belong to me, but to Higuchi Tachibana.**

* * *

"_Natsume. What's wrong with him? Is he okay? Is he? Please tell me he's fine!"_

_Yukihira looks at her daughter with eyes showing what he is about to say next is not a joke._

"_Mikan. He collapsed."_

* * *

_IX. Get Well Visit_

* * *

Mikan looks at her dad, with a look of disbelief. No way, didn't Natsume say that he was fine? What happened the two hours between her last look at him and now?

"W-what? He said that he was fi—"

"How did he look when he was fighting?"

"He looked fi—" Mikan stops at the same word as before. _"No, he had a few scratches on him. Nothing minor, as from what it looked. However, there may be more that meets the eye," _Mikan thinks.

"Either way Mikan, your mom and I don't know the full details. How about asking your friends and Natsume? His mom says that you guys can see him tomorrow. He's conscious now, but his family members are forcing him to rest."

Mikan gives a nod of agreement.

"Good." With that, they both sit back down at the dinner table and finish.

_~(^^)~_

"Ruka, can you come downstairs?" Ruka's mom calls.

"Coming!" Ruka puts his cellphone on his bedside, and then runs down. "Yeah?"

"I just got a phone call from Kaoru. It was about Natsume. He's... sick. You can call him, actually, if you want to know more of the details. His parents are fine with it."

"Okay," Ruka replies, looking down onto the floor, as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. "I just have to text someone first." He smiles to his mom, then turns and runs back upstairs.

Ruka's mom looks at him, surprised, but with a smile on her face.

_~(^^)~_

"Hotaruuu! Mom's wants you downstairs!" Hotaru's little brother shouts through the door.

Hotaru finishes her text message, and puts her phone on her pillow. She walks to the door, and opens it.

"Mom wants you down—"

"I heard you, stupid."

"Fine." With that, he goes back to the basement to play his video games... that Hotaru made.

She walks up to her mom, who was making coffee for her husband. He was going to be working into the early morning.

"Oh, you're here. Natsume's family called."

"Why would this concern me?"

"Because Natsume's your friend, is he not?"

"... Nope."

"Well, you have to be if you want to continue dating his best friend." Hotaru's mom shoots her a glare.

"... Fine. He's my friend."

"They called Ruka's and Mikan's family already, so you can ask them tonight about this. Natsume's at home. He collapsed a little after they arrived back home."

"Okay," Hotaru replies.

Even though she and Natsume are not close, her "boyfriend" and her best friend are with him. As well, with the recent events, it seems that Mikan is starting to think of him as more of a "friend". There is no doubt though, that she is feeling concerned for him.

"Thanks for the information," she finally says. She walks back up to her bedroom and grabs her phone. She notices that she got a message while she was downstairs.

"_That was mean... :( _

_Uhm, sorry for quickly going off topic, but are you free tomorrow? Natsume's well... sick, I should say. There's no doubt that Mikan would get a phone call from Natsume's mom, and if your claim is correct, she's probably going to put all of her plans on-hold to see him. So, I'll ask what time you're free first before calling her about the details. :)"_

**[Reply] | View Contact Information | Back**

"_My mom just told me what happened. I don't understand why his mom would call us, probably because the four of us are always together. I'm free tomorrow after 10am._

_Oh, by the way, no that wasn't. They deserved it. I knew Tsubasa and Misaki were setting us up the whole time."_

**Save to Drafts | [Send] | Cancel **

**Message Sent.**

_~(^^)~_

"Mikan! Wake up! It's 10! Don't keep your friends waiting!" Yuka is standing on the steps leading to the top floor, the floor which Mikan's bedroom is situated. For once, she will call on her daughter, like she promised her before she went to bed. Mikan said that she didn't want to be late to visit Natsume.

"Mom!" Mikan calls... from below her?

"Mi-Mikan? You're downstairs... and dressed already?"

"Well, I didn't want to be late to visit Natsume, so for some reason, I woke up earlier today."

"How many alarm clocks went off this time?" Yuka eyes her suspiciously.

"... None..." Mikan says, surprising herself along with her mother.

"M-my little girl has grown up," she replies jokingly, wiping her fake tears with a napkin.

"Of course! I'm 17 now, mom!" Mikan shouts as she grabs her bag.

"Mikan, don't forget the box of food you made. It's beside the steps."

"Oh, right. Thanks!" She thanks. With that, she opens the door, and surely, Hotaru and Ruka are already waiting for her outside the gates.

"Good morning!" She yells as she runs up to them. She punches in the five-digit code to unlock the gate, and closes it, typing another five digit code.

"Good morning," Ruka replies. He notices Mikan holding an extra baggage. "What's in the box?"

"... Lunch!" She yells as she holds the bag up.

"You know," Ruka says as they start walking towards Natsume's house, "Natsume's parents are home today, as well as Aoi and Youichi. They can make the meals."

"Well, I'm considering this as a get-well present for Natsume."

"He won't get well when he eats those." Hotaru walks in front of them, leaving the two behind as she walks up.

"Hey! That's mean!" Mikan cries.

"Well, it's true. Your cooking skills stink."

"You never even ate any!"

"You gave me burnt homemade cookies for Valentine's Day… twice."

"Well, my skills have improved since then!"

"That was five months ago."

"Hmph. I'm not _that _bad," Mikan mumbles, crossing her arms. She whips her head to the side, showing that she's angry at her best friend.

"C-calm down guys."

"We're not guys," the two ladies respond simultaneously.

Ruka sweatdrops.

"W-well… look! A bunny!" Ruka points in front of him.

Indeed, there was a cute, little bunny in front of him, on the sidewalk several steps in front. It eyes Ruka with a curious look, and it hops and jumps on him.

"Hey!" He says to the bunny.

"Oh, speaking of which Ruka," Mikan speaks, "how do you not make animals run away from you?"

"I don't know, to be honest. They just come to me when I welcome them, strangely."

"Mikan, he's an animal," Hotaru whispers to her quietly, loud enough for Ruka to hear though.

"No I'm not! They… they just like me!" He retorts.

"Yeah right," Hotaru teases.

"Then explain how you can make random inventions that no one else can make!"

"W-well, I'm smart. You're just an animal lover," Hotaru stutters.

Mikan looks at her. This is the first time she ever heard her stutter.

"_Wow, love really turns a person soft, huh?" _Mikan thinks to herself, while her friends are still bickering at each other. _"Just like me with Natsu—_UGH NOT AGAIN!" She half thinks and shouts.

Ruka and Hotaru looks at their friend who just suddenly burst out of nowhere.

"U-uhm Mikan, are you okay?" Ruka asks. "What not again?"

"Oh," Mikan looks at the two staring at her and then turns her head, trying to hide her blush. "Na- I mean n-nothing."

When Mikan was doing so, Ruka and Hotaru look at each other, giving each other a gentle smile, knowing the reason behind her sudden outburst.

"Anyways Mikan, look in front of you. We're at Natsume's."

"Finally!" She shouts, and before any of her friends can react, she bursts in front of them, and runs to the gate. She presses the doorbell.

"Who is it?" From who said it, Mikan can tell it was Aoi.

"It's Mikan, Ruka and Hotaru! We're here to visit Natsume!"

"Oh, finally! I thought you guys would never come! I'll go open the gates now." Right before she turns the intercom off, Mikan hears an unfamiliar voice.

"Who is it, Aoi?"

"Oh, it's onii-chan's friends."

"Oh, I see." Then it cuts off.

"Who was that?" Mikan asks after she turns toward Ruka and Hotaru, who are beside her.

"That was Youichi, probably," Ruka responds.

"Oh yeah! I forgot he was here…"

"No worries. I think Aoi and him are planning on going out to eat somewhere anyways, so you won't see him in the house for long," Ruka reassures, and then the gates open. Aoi opens the door, and waves.

"Hey guys! You know where his room is. Upstairs to the left and the third door down."

"Yep! Thanks Aoi."

"No pro—oh wait! I want you to meet Youichi. He's a close friend of mine." Aoi suddenly goes to the next room, and they can hear some chattering.

Aoi comes back with a boy about the same age as her, with brown hair that is just a couple shades darker than Mikan's. He has grey eyes, and his expression makes Mikan remind her of Natsume.

"Mikan, this is Hijiri Youichi. I went to his kingdom for the few months that you were aware about," Aoi introduces.

"Hi Youichi, it's nice to meet you," Mikan greets.

"Hello. Aoi, does she like Natsume?" Ruka and Hotaru resist laughing, while Aoi and Mikan look at him in shock.

"U-uhmm, I don't k-know, Youichi," Aoi replies, surprised and embarrassed at the same. "Why would you say that?"

"Because her face is red," he replies.

Aoi and the others look at her face.

"N-no it isn't! It's just from the temperature in here! Yeah that's it!"

"Uhhm Mikan, you're shivering," Aoi replies. She never thought that Mikan would fall in love with her older brother. Her older brother! He never treats any girl he meets with mercy!

"But anyways!" Mikan changes the subject. "We should go see Natsume now, or he'll be sad—"

"No he won't," Hotaru replies bluntly.

"Heh heh heh…" Mikan sweatdrops. "Well, let's go!" She darts up the steps and into Natsume's room.

Everyone else replies with a sweatdrop.

"Uhh, I don't think she'll feel any better in there, if she really does like Natsume," Ruka says.

Everyone just looks at him.

"'If she really does like Natsume?' She for sure likes him stupid," Hotaru remarks towards her boyfriend. "No wonder we needed the two idiots [referring to Misaki and Tsubasa] to get us together."

"Hey! I was the one who confessed in the swan ride thing anyways!" Ruka yells.

"Sure sure, I'll let you leave it to your imagination." With that Hotaru leaves the group and walks up the stairs.

"H-hey!" Ruka yells, blushing. "I'm not done talking with you yet!" He yells as he chases after her.

Aoi and Youichi are left standing downstairs.

"Maybe we should leave them alone…?" Aoi looks at Youichi for an answer.

"Sure, but they better not spend too much time with onii-chan." Clearly, Youichi is jealous.

"Heh heh heh…" Aoi replies.

_~(^^)~_

"_Why did I run into Natsume's room, of all places?" _Mikan shouts in her brain. If she was yelling out loud, she bets that the whole world can hear what she had said, loud and clear.

"Mikan, what are you doing here."

Mikan slowly looks up, in the direction of the oh-so-familiar voice.

"Na-natsume," she says.

"You didn't answer my question, stupid," he retorts, not looking up from his manga.

"Are you okay? I heard from my parents that you collapsed when you got home!" She indirectly answers his question.

"_Tch, stupid blabbermouth parents,"_ Natsume reflects.

"Are you okay?" Mikan asks again, after hearing no response from him.

"I'm fine."

"I don't believe you. You said that last time, and clearly you weren't," Mikan replies. She looks at him, looking for signs of wounds.

She gets the answer. She realizes that on his upper arm, there's a bandage rolled up from just below his shoulders, to just above the elbow. There are a few bandages on his right arm as well. There's no doubt that there are some more on his legs.

"Does it matter?" Natsume asks while still reading his manga, interrupting her observation.

"Of course it matters, Natsume! Do you have any idea how much you made me worry?" Mikan suddenly blurts out.

Natsume's eyes open wider, his face still tilted towards the manga.

"_You… are worried about me? Why?" _He thought.

Mikan continues, hearing no response from Natsume.

"I was worried about you, Natsume. I felt as if _I _was the one who had to deal with all of this," Mikan responds.

"What do you me—" Natsume is interrupted by Mikan.

"I know you might kill me for this, but I found out from my parents about all of this."

"What do you mean by 'all of this'?" Natsume asks, as he really hopes she isn't talking about what he thinks she is talking about.

However, clearly luck hasn't been with him lately.

"About… everything, Natsume. About the countless times where people tried to… kidnap you," Mikan lowers her voice at the last two words, where it is barely audible.

"These parents of ours are so stupid," is the only reply Mikan receives from Natsume. She is fine with that, however.

"No, I made my parents tell me, because they saw how worried I was."

"You don't have to wo—"

Mikan interrupts Natsume once again, knowing what he is about to say.

"I do Natsume, because… because…"

"Why." Natsume raises his eyebrow, his manga on the side of his bed.

Mikan takes a deep breath.

"Because, I love you."

* * *

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The next chapter isn't coming until I get at least one review for this one!

Until next time,  
Sakura-tan


	10. X: Turn of Events

Note: Chapters 1 – 9 have been edited for format purposes. :)

**Writer and Editor: Sakura-tan**

**Disclaimer: ... Yeah right, haha, that's funny... no. Gakuen Alice doesn't belong to me, of course.**

* * *

"_No... way... this can't be happening... NO!"_

"_Haha, this is what you get."_

"_I will get rid of you, I promise."_

* * *

_X. Turn of Events_

* * *

Natsume stares at Mikan with wide eyes, not believing what she just confessed.

"_She... likes me? She... likes _me_?"_

Mikan, not seeing a response from him, lifts her face, preparing for the worst. Instead, she just sees shock written all over his face. She can also tell that there is a bit of sadness in there as well.

"Why..." Natsume mutters, "do you like me? You can't like me. I can't drag you down with me."

Mikan, before she confessed, thought that he may just laugh off at her confession. Or even smirk and reply that he likes her back, or just be in utter shock. She even thought that he would kick her out of the house or something. However, for some reason, she did not expect this. This just made her mad.

"What do you mean Natsume? I love you, nothing can stop that. I want to help you get through this, and see you be the king of this place in the future, if that's your wish. I want to be with you every step of the way. If I will have to face the 'darkness' of the world, I'm fine with it! I don't care! All that matters is that we're in this together, got that?" Mikan is standing and looking down at Natsume, who is still on his bed, sitting in the same position as before. Her hands are clenched into fists to keep her anger down.

Natsume looks at her, still in astonishment. Not one person said that to him, ever. One main reason that his family hasn't decide to tell his friends is because they thought they would look down on him, or so he thought.

After snapping back to reality, he just looks back down onto his lap, while Mikan sits on his bed, waiting for a response.

_One second, two seconds, three seconds, four seconds..._

Mikan feels that it's taking forever for him to respond.

"Look Natsume, I don't want our friendshi—"

"You're an idiot, Mikan," Natsume says bluntly without looking at her, staying in the same position as before.

Mikan puffs her cheeks.

"Well, I'm sor—"

"But for some reason, I still like you. You're so strange."

It takes a while for Mikan to figure out where this conversation is going. However, she manages to do so. She faces him, and sees his face a little bit red.

"Na-Natsume, I think you should lie down. You're going red."

"You're so stupid."

"Uhh, that's about the 99837th time you said that," Mikan jokes, as she holds onto his arm, trying to get him to sleep. However, his arm stays in place, on his lap.

"You're too nice for your own good. You try too hard, even though it is not worth it."

A vein in Mikan's head pops.

"You try to get along with everyone, even if they hated you, like me."

Another one.

"You are clumsy, you eat too many sweets, and you're the weirdest person I've ever met."

And another one.

"OKAY MISTER I HAVE—" She gets interrupted once again.

"You always try to put others before yourself, and you don't care about what other people think about you, if you get to assist one another for a good cause."

Mikan stops yelling, and looks at him with a gentle look.

"That's why... I can't help falling in love with you." Finally, Natsume looks up, and meets her gaze.

"I... love you too, Natsume," Mikan repeats.

They keep their gaze at each other, not wanting to be the one to break it. Subconsciously, they start slowly closing the gap between them.

**BOOM**

The two break from each other's gaze when they realize that there are people right outside the room.

"You idiot!" They hear one person yell.

"I'm sorry." The other cries.

Mikan and Natsume look at each other. Natsume glares at her, expecting an explanation.

"Oh yeah. I forgot to mention, Hotaru and Ruka are here as well." Mikan sweatdrops.

"That explains it," Natsume replies ingenuously. He gets up from his bed, with persistence from Mikan saying that she'll get the door. In the end, he gets his way after threatening her that he'll burn her skirt again. Clearly she has forgotten that she has nullification.

Natsume opens the door, while Mikan peers out behind him.

They see their two friends on the ground, as well as Natsume's sister and her friend. Youichi's sitting on top of Ruka, who is faceplanted on the ground. Hotaru is sitting on the other side of the door, close to the hinges, as well as Aoi, who is in front of her.

"Should I ask what happened, Ruka," Natsume says it in more of a statement than a question.

"No, not really," he replies as he sweatdrops.

"Natsume onii-chan," Youichi looks up at him, still sitting on Ruka, "are you and Mikan onee-chan girlfriend and boyfriend now?"

Mikan looks at him, and blushes.

"W-well, uhmm..." Mikan looks down at the floor. Natsume just glances at her, hoping for her to answer for the two of them. The "couple" didn't even bother to hit—wait, that's too light of a word—to _strangle _them for listening in on their conversation.

The five just stare at her, waiting for an answer.

"W-well, I think so..." Mikan's face is now as red as a tomato. She doesn't look up.

"The princess has spoken," Hotaru replies. "Natsume, you better be good with her. If not, I'll smash you to a billion pieces."

Everyone else just sweatdrops.

"Be good with me?" Mikan asks as she tilts her head in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

Everyone else just facepalms.

"Eh?"

"Mikan you're so stu—" Natsume freezes when another voice yells.

"Natsume, you better be in your room!" Kaoru shouts to the teens and pre-teens.

Aoi just suddenly opens the door and pushes everyone in, then herself, and closes the door. They all sit on the floor.

"Wow, I never knew your mom was that strict," Mikan starts.

"Since this is the first time that she has to deal with an injured son, being overprotective can be the case," Aoi replies, sweatdropping.

"Wait, what?" Mikan is confused. "_First _time? Meaning as in..."

"Yeah," Ruka finishes, "Natsume never got injured to the point where he needed urgent medical attention before. Even now though, his mom told me there is a high possibility that they had sedatives in the gunshots they were shooting at him. That may have been the cause of him collapsing, since she told me how her, her husband and Aoi couldn't identify any wounds that would cause him to collapse like that."

"..." Natsume glares at his sister and friend. It is if he isn't even here. However, Aoi notices the glare.

"Whoops, sorry Natsume, more secrets slipped," Aoi teases, sticking out her tongue.

Natsume lightly whacks her head, like he always does.

"Natsume is a meanie!" Aoi says with tears in the corners of her eyes, her cheeks puffed.

"Of course he is," Kaoru says in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Eh mom? What are you doing here? We're behaving, aren't we?" Aoi asks a little too innocently, like they _weren't _just outside of the room, and they _weren't _telling the others more about the secrets of the Hyuuga family.

"Shouldn't _I_ be the one saying that? Wasn't it you and Youichi who asked me to give you two a ride?"

"Oh, right." Aoi and Youichi get up from the floor. "We'll see you guys later then."

"See you later Natsume onii-chan." Youichi waves at him and Natsume waves back.

"Bye," Natsume replies.

Mikan looks at him in surprise. It seems that there is a side that Natsume shows only to Youichi.

Youichi lightly closes the door while the four stay in the room. Natsume stands up, and opens the door after he senses that they have left the house.

"Wait, Natsume," Mikan stops him, "didn't your mom tell you to stay in this room?"

"She's out. I need food." Natsume was about to walk out of the room when Mikan grabs a hold of his arm.

"Wait! I brought lunch!" She says as she grabs the food.

"Can we not eat in here?" Natsume asks bluntly.

"..." Mikan looks at him, as he still stands at the open-door.

_~(^^)~_

Mikan is happily eating her food, stuffing them one by one into her mouth. Her three friends are staring at her, two in disgust, and one sweatdropping.

_~(^^)~_

_Three Minutes ago_

"... I shouldn't have said anything," Natsume mumbles as Mikan serves them the food outside.

"Yeah you shouldn't. There is a reason why I never eat outside with her," Hotaru adds.

After constant retorts, Natsume finally won, and they decided to eat outside on the grass. Mikan gives equal amounts of each food to her friends. Natsume had never feared for his life until he looked at the aliments.

"Should I eat it," Natsume asks Hotaru.

"No," is her reply.

Mikan looks at her best friend with anger, and stuffs a finger sandwich into Natsume's mouth to prove her wrong. Ruka looked at Mikan with surprise, and pity.

"_Doing that to Natsume will result in—"_

"AHH! SKIRT ON FIRE SKIRT ON FIRE!" She shouts as she runs around in circles.

"—_no mercy to the victim," _Ruka thinks, then sighs. _"Never, ever stuff food into his mouth, Mikan. That's like ordering a death sentence."_

"Natsume, was it good?" Hotaru asks.

The only reply that she receives from him is him spitting the food into a nearby garbage can.

_~(^^)~_

_Present time, Kiminatsu front yard_

"Mikan, you're going to get food poisoning," Hotaru says to her.

"I'm nwot eatwing thwat fwast," she says with her mouth full.

"Mikan. Swallow. We don't understand a thing, stupid," Hotaru retorts. Mikan does exactly that.

"Eh heh heh, sorry about that. Force of habit. " Mikan sweatdrops.

"You're an idi—" Natsume's statement is once again interrupted, but instead by sudden shaking below their feet.

"W-what's going on?" Mikan shouts to her friend. She threw her food onto the ground and grabs a hold of Natsume's hand subconsciously. Natsume doesn't seem to care at this point. However, he tries to hide his small blush.

"Earthquake?" Ruka replies back, not noticing the small sign of affection between his two friends.

"If that's the case, I think we're supposed to run into the house!" Mikan replies.

"YOU IDIOT!" Natsume finally manages to say. "You do the opposite, stupid!"

After a couple more seconds, the shaking stops.

"W-what was that?" Mikan says as she tries to calm her heart down. She doesn't let go of Natsume's hand, however.

"I don't know, but—" Ruka stops when they hear an aircraft rip through the air. Judging from how loud it was, it was too close to the ground for a normal plane taking off to be. There's no airport near this vicinity as well. There should be no reason for a plane to fly this low otherwise. The four friends realize this fact, and take this as an abnormal phenomenon, along with the shaking of the earth.

The four friends look up, and see that there are continuous and continuous planes shooting through the sky at a very low altitude, and notice that planes in the faraway distance dropping something onto the ground beneath it.

They glance at each other, only to grasp onto the soil again after more shaking of the ground occurs.

"What's going on?" Mikan cries, deathly scared.

"How are we supposed to know?" Hotaru shouts back, with the same fear evident in her voice.

"Mikan, activate your nullification, now!" Natsume hollers.

She uses it, lifting her forearm up into the air and a transparent substance emerges, creating a dome keeping the four friends inside. She had put it up just in time, because a large fire ball descends on them, and luckily, it's absorbed by the shield effectively. There was no damage done of them, or the ground beneath and around them.

"Whoa, what was that?" Mikan yells.

"Keep it up!" Ruka replies, dodging Mikan's question.

The same routine happens again. The shaking stops, and then starts up again. However, the teens are calmer, knowing that Mikan's power is keeping them from any severe harm.

Finally, the tremors stops once again, and it didn't come back.

Mikan deactivates her power, dropping her left forearm and sits down, with a sigh of relief. The others do one as well. They all try to catch their breath before any of them speaks.

"What... was... that?" Ruka asks his friends, hoping for a sign of anything that can answer his question. He notices smoke going up into the sky from distant buildings, as if they were caught on fire.

"The aircrafts, the fire coming down on us, the shaking..." Mikan reminds. She looks at Natsume to see if he has an answer.

Instead, he's taking his bandages off calmly.

"What are you doing? Are you fine doing that?" Mikan responds.

"Yeah," Natsume replies, "it doesn't hurt or anything."

Mikan breathes another sigh of relief, not because of his reply, but she saw that his wounds, after being uncovered, were pretty much gone.

"Mikan, Hotaru, Ruka, Natsume!" They hear Kaoru shout as she runs up to them. She tries to catch her breath. "Thank... goodness you guys... are safe..." She manages to get across.

The four teens stand up, looking at each other in confusion.

"... What?" Natsume replies as he crosses his arms, directing his reply to his mother. "Of course we're safe."

She takes a couple more breaths, and then speaks once again.

"Did you see all of that?" Mikan asks, hoping to get an answer—any answer—from her. "Shaking, the planes dropping the fireballs," Mikan says in a panicked voice.

"I need you guys out of here. Out of Kiminatsu, now," Kaoru says as she pushes Natsume and Mikan with her two hands.

"Wait!" Ruka shouts. "What's going on? Why do they have to leave? And out of _Kiminatsu_?" Ruka asks in the same tone of voice as Mikan, panicked with worry.

"Not just them, but you two too," Kaoru looks back, urging them to follow her.

"Why? How about Aoi and Youichi? You know what's going on, do you?" Natsume asks as he puts on his brakes. He plants his feet on the floor, and glares at his mom. Kaoru can clearly tell that his son will not budge unless he gets some answers. Answers that his friends also want to know.

"There... has been an attack on Kiminatsu and Hanakura. They are aiming for you two, Mikan and Natsume."

* * *

Is this cliff-hanger good enough :)? Review if you want the next chapter to come sooner! Reviews motivate me to post~ :D Also, visit our blog (profile, homepage).

- Sakura-tan


	11. XI: The Unbreakable Quartet

**Writer and Editor: Sakura-tan**

**Disclaimer: No, Gakuen Alice doesn't belong to me. It would be terrible if it did. :p**

* * *

"_Why? How about Aoi and Youichi? You know what's going on, do you?"_

"_There... has been an attack on Kiminatsu and Hanakura. They are aiming for you two, Mikan and Natsume."_

* * *

_XI. The Unbreakable Quartet_

* * *

The four cannot believe what they are hearing out of Kaoru's mouth. _Attack_? That has never happened in this country... or so they thought.

"Why are they aiming for them?" Hotaru asks, concern written all over her face. She's not as concerned over Natsume as she is for Mikan, for obvious reasons. Mikan has never been hated before, to the point where she may have to fear for her life. As well, being the closest friend to Mikan and vice versa, of course she should be more concerned about her. That doesn't mean that she's not concerned over Natsume, however.

"We'll explain later. All of you." Kaoru gives a very stern look at each of their faces. The four can tell that she is dead serious, and they better not disobey her. "Go home and pack your bags. When you're done, go to Ruka's house."

"We'll _explain it later?" _Natsume contemplates. _"You're saying that Ruka's family knows what's going on as well? I thought they were only attacking Kiminatsu and Hanakura..."_

"Is this okay though? My parents aren't home," Ruka comments, surprised at the sudden intrusion. Kaoru is never demanding about going to someone else's house. She was acting as if all this was... planned.

"They are now," Kaoru responds. "I can drop the three of you off, if you need to. I need to pick up Aoi and Youichi as well anyways."

"If that's convenient for you, then sure," Mikan says, "but how is Youichi going to get back?"

"He has the necessities at our house, so there's no problem with him," Kaoru replies back. "Now go. We need to do this as quickly as possible." Mikan recalls that Youichi is staying over at their house. She would feel embarrassed for asking such a question, but in this current situation, not exactly.

"What's the rush?" Ruka asks.

Kaoru sighs, hoping that they could get a move on, but nonetheless answers his question.

"I'll explain more clearly when we're at your house, where we're safe... for the most part. Please, just do as I say for now," she replies. She takes a few papers out of her bag. "Here's a list of things you guys need. Whatever is left here, you may not be able to see again," she says in a sad voice. She hands a paper to each of them.

The four look at her, knowing that she's under a lot of stress now. They do exactly as she says. Natsume goes into the house to pack up his necessities, while the other three follow Kaoru and go into the car. Before Kaoru goes into the driver's seat, she shouts to Natsume.

"Natsume! Your dad's coming back in a couple minutes. Stay safe as you're packing, and don't do anything impulsive."

"Hn," he replies in an irritated voice.

"... I don't want to lose you," Kaoru concludes with a whisper to herself. The other three, being in the car, could only see her mouth out words, not hearing what she is saying. They just glance at each other, and shrug it off. Then they see her jump in the car like nothing bad was going on.

"Okay, we'll drop off Mikan, then Hotaru, then Ruka, and pick up Aoi and Youichi, and bring those two to our house. It'll just be a quick circle, it seems," she starts.

"Okay!" Mikan shouts as Kaoru starts the car and drive out of the driveway.

For a while, the car ride's pretty silent. Then, Kaoru speaks.

"All of your parents should be back at your houses now," she starts.

None of them say anything, not know what a proper response is anymore. Kaoru realizes that they were being unusually quiet. She sighs once again, and tries again.

"Since your parents are home, they can help you pack. Since they are the royals, they probably have responded to this problem already."

"Igarashi-san, I'm not meaning to sound offensive at all," Ruka finally speaks, "but you're making it seem as if you have all known that this was going to happen, or something along those lines," Ruka stutters at the last few words.

This time, Kaoru replies with no hesitation in her voice.

"Yes, we knew that this was going to happen all along."

The three just stare at her, wide eyed.

"We just didn't know when this would happen, which was the problem," she concludes this matter at hand. "Anyways, Mikan you're here."

"O-oh, thank you." Mikan looks out the window, and sees that Kaoru was right.

Her mom is waving as she sees the familiar car and faces.

"Mom!" Mikan shouts as she gets out of the car. They wave back at the departing car, with Ruka and Hotaru waving back.

"Mikan! Thank goodness you're safe!" Yuka replies in response, relieved. "Your dad is in the house. He's talking with officials over the phone, so be sure to not disturb him." She puts her index finger to her own lip for effect. "It seems that you have a job to do when you get into the house," Yuka remarks, as she points at the paper in her daughter's hand.

_~(^^)~_

Ruka and Hotaru wave back at Mikan and her mom, as they were waving to them.

When their figure disappeared from view, they sit back down. Hotaru and Ruka look straight ahead. Ruka, thinking that it isn't necessarily a good time to speak, just sits in silence, and then looks outside his window, where he sees blurs of trees and houses breezing past.

Unpredictably, Hotaru whispers to him.

"Ruka, what do you think about this situation?" She asks.

Ruka, surprised at her sudden question, just looks at her in confusion. Then, he looks at his lap, digesting the question.

"Oh, I don't know, to be honest. We don't know the full details, so I can't really say much."

Hotaru looks at him, feeling a bit guilty.

"Because of the little amount of information we know, I think there's not much in worrying. However, it's by human nature to worry a bit, I think. Our friends may be in grave danger," Ruka continues, "but that doesn't mean that the worst-case scenario will come upon them. They have all of us. Not only that, but they have the mindset to deal with this case." Ruka looks at Hotaru in the eye, seeing that she was really concerned and worried for their friends. "They are strong, trust me." Ruka smiles.

Hotaru takes a deep breath out, and gives a gentle smile back. She feels a lot more relieved, agreeing to everything that her boyfriend said. Slowly, the two simultaneously clasp each other's hands. They don't break their gazes from each other, and they slowly lean in, giving each other a quick peck on the lips. They put their foreheads against each other, and give each other another gentle smile, until Hotaru arrives at her house.

Ruka and Hotaru wave at each other, until Hotaru is out of his line of sight. He doesn't say anything, but just touches his lips, and blushes, with a smile emerging from his face.

Kaoru looks at him through the rear-view mirror, and gives a small smile, not letting Ruka notice.

"I'm glad to see that Natsume has got better," Kaoru starts.

"Yeah, I'm happy too," Ruka responds. "He's a tough guy."

"Yep. Which may be a reason why he'll never get a girlfriend."

"Wha?" Ruka responds. Clearly Kaoru took the word 'tough' with a more negative connotation. "Well to be honest, he... has a girlfriend."

"WHAT?" Kaoru hollers, causing the car to swerve.

"Igarashi-san, calm down please!" Ruka shouts as he holds onto the seat.

"Yeah," Kaoru says as she exhales deeply. "Sorry about that. So what? Natsume has a girlfriend?"

Ruka nods. He doesn't want to mention any further, but he doesn't want her to jump to the wrong conclusions. "It's Mikan," he finals.

"I knew it. I had a feeling that they would get together the second they met," Kaoru says with relief in her voice. "As a mother, I was getting concerned about what girlfriend he would have," she says as she laughs.

Ruka sweatdrops.

"It's good to know you care about him," Ruka says with his typical sweet prince-ly voice, as Kaoru pulls up to his driveway. As he gets out of the car he says, "He thinks about others a lot, so you don't need to worry so much about him."

Kaoru just gives a nod in agreement, as he closes the door and walks up the steps into his house.

"That's the reason I'm worried about him, Ruka," she says out-loud to herself, and backs up, and onto the road.

_~(^^)~_

"Welcome back, Hiro-sama," a maid greets.

"Thank you," he replies, with a smile, a smile that shows obvious hints of stress. Since the attacks on Kiminatsu and Hanakura, he has been getting and endless amount of phone calls about people wondering what happened, and even security and other officials. The news reporters are following wherever he is going to grab some information on what is going on. It has got to the point where he now needs boosted security, to chase the paparazzi away and to give him some comfort and space.

When he gets upstairs, he notices his son rummaging through a box in his room.

"Son, I'm assuming that your mother has told you what's going on?"

"Hn," was his only reply as he rummaged through the bag.

"What are you looking for?" Hiro asks, hoping to assist him.

"The book," he replies.

Hiro facepalms. His son simply adores books, to the point where he has no more room to put it. He filled up his three bookshelves already, and insisted that he doesn't need another bookshelf, feeling that he asked enough from his parents. So, he puts them in boxes that they brought back from grocery shopping. The books are not bought, mind you. Most of them, if not all, are gifts from others, be it friends, relatives, or people who just simply admire him and his family.

"Son, you have a lot of other books, so why are you looking for that one book? You still haven't started packing your clothes yet."

"Yeah I did. It's in the suitcase under my bed already."

"You surprise me once again, Natsume," Hiro says in astonishment. "Do you need help?"

"No!" Natsume replies strictly. In fact, Hiro is taken aback by his sudden outburst. "Go do the work you need to do, dad. I'm fine here. Don't stress yourself out."

Hiro smiles, and hugs his son out of affection.

"... Will you let go of me."

"Yes yes," he replies, before leaving to his office.

"Found it," Natsume whispers, and takes his suitcase out from the bottom of his bed. He stuffs the book with the rest of his belongings.

He hears his sister and her friend talking downstairs when he finally sits down on his bed.

_~(^^)~_

"Mikan, are you okay?" Yuka asks as she advises her husband to turn left on the next intersection.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," she replies, deep in thought.

They are sitting in their car, driving to Ruka's house. She can't help but feel... hollow and confused. She is also scared and nervous.

"_Mom," she starts, "What is going on? Why are people attacking Hanakura? Did I do something wrong?"_

"_No sweetie, not at all. Don't worry, you'll understand all of this when we get to Ruka's house."_

"_Are you saying that all of you know what's going on?" Mikan asks._

"_Hmm." Yuka debates whether or not to tell her. "You could say that."_

"_So none of us did anything wrong, right?"_

"_None of you, trust me."_

_With that, Mikan calms down just a tad bit._

"There's no need to worry, trust me. What do you think Hotaru would say in this instance?"

"Worrying brings wrinkles on your stupid head, Mikan."

Yuka laughs.

"Okay fine then, how about Ruka?"

"Mikan, there is no need to worry," she imitates, still not feeling really content.

"How about Natsume?"

This one is a tough one. It takes a while for her to conjure up something he would say, but she finally thinks of one.

"Baka, worrying is useless if you don't know what's going on," Mikan says in a calm voice. She smiles, and for some reason, feels content. She lies on her seat, and relaxes, closing her eyes, and lulls herself to a quick nap.

Yuka turns to her to see her reaction, and smiles. She and her husband eye each other, knowing what is going on.

"_They finally confessed," _they thought simultaneously.

_~(^^)~_

The doorbell rings, signalling that another family has arrived.

"I'll get it!" Ruka calls, and presses the intercom on. "Who is it?" He asks into it.

"It's Mikan!" He hears.

"Okay, hold on a sec," he replies, and then opens the door.

"Welcome to the Nogi household," he says, imitating a butler.

"Thanks, butler Ruka," Mikan replies jokingly.

"Hotaru's here already," Ruka responds, breaking from his role.

"Wait, Natsume's not here yet?" Ruka looks at her, a little bit stunned. He eyes an interested look as she is taking off her shoes.

"Well, we _do_ have to wait for Aoi and Youichi as well, so," Ruka answers.

"Oh, right." Mikan can't believe she completely forgot about that. She follows Ruka.

"You really _are _in love with him," Ruka whispers into her ear.

Mikan's reply is her face changing into 100 shades of red.

"I'm just joking!" Ruka laughs as they walk up the steps.

"You were joking about what?" Hotaru butts in.

"Hotaru, she's starting to think of Natsume on a higher pedestal than you," Ruka teases once again.

"Finally," Hotaru exhales loudly.

"RUKA YOU BAKA!" Mikan finally shouts. She was so loud, the three friends didn't hear the doorbell.

"Hey, I'm just stating the truth!" Ruka replies back, smiling a wide smile the whole time.

"I think Natsume's attitude is starting to rub off onto you." Mikan sticks her tongue out, showing him that she knows he's teasing with her.

"My what?" A familiar monotone voice joins the conversation.

Mikan jumps at the sudden voice.

"N-Natsume!" Mikan shouts in an awkward way. "We were just wondering where you were, and what you—I mean I, I mean," Mikan stutters and a billion sweatdrops form on her head. "I mean I mean I mean..." She just stops talking and starts flailing her arms.

"My name is Mikan, what's yours?" She just says.

Hotaru and Ruka facepalm, while Natsume lifts a brow.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine! I was just asking the weather!" She just says, having no idea where she is getting all this from.

"Kids!" They hear Kaoru yell from below them. "Come downstairs!"

"Hai!" Mikan yells in a snap, and bolts downstairs.

Hotaru and Ruka follow, while Ruka is laughing half-to-death and Hotaru smiling, leaving Natsume confused.

_~(^^)~_

"There was a tale from about a couple centuries ago. In short, it was about a couple. The girl was engaged to a man ever since she was young. However, later in life she fell in love with another man. Her family obliged to call the engagement off, and let the two become a couple. However, the other man was not happy, and neither was his family. They plotted to kill the man who took 'her girl' away. Unlike many fairytales, this ended tragically. Their plan worked, but it backfired at the same time. The girl killed herself," Kaoru says.

"Wait, I don't get it," Mikan says. "This man, that man… I'm confused."

Natsume speaks, hoping that his analogy will get into his dense girlfriend.

"Person A and Person B were engaged. Person A fell in love with Person C. Person B killed person C, and Person A killed herself."

"Oh," Mikan says, now understanding. "What has this have to do with us though?"

"You two," Yukihira looks at Natsume and Mikan, "are part of that."

This is when all six children widen their eyes.

"Wait, what?" Mikan says, in shock.

"You're saying they're part of a fairytale?" Hotaru asks. "That's ridiculous."

"It may seem like that, but that is the only explanation," Ruka's mom responds.

"Where's the proof?" Hotaru eyes them.

"The powers. Nullification and Fire. The couple had powers too," Hotaru's mom says.

"Not only that, but the girl did had nullification, and the boy had fire," Yuka adds.

Hotaru sits back in her chair, crossing her arms. She doesn't want to hear any more proof. It only makes sense to believe this. After all, there are two royals with the ability to do something completely supernatural. It shouldn't be too hard to believe something like _this _can happen.

"So what are you saying about the bad people who just attacked Hanakura and Kiminatsu?" Natsume asks.

"They serve Katsu—Person C," Ruka's dad says.

Now it doesn't seem to be that hard to put the pieces together.

"So let me sum this up," Aoi starts. "Basically, Mikan and Natsume are part of this prophecy. The reason for the attacks is to break Natsume and Mikan up, since they are part of it. In order to stay safe though, you want them out of the territory being invaded?"

"Exactly," Hiro mentions.

"So then what are we supposed to do? Where do you want us to go?"

"That… is the problem. We don't know exactly how to break the prophecy."

"So what exactly is the objective that the bad guy wants to accomplish?" Youichi asks.

The parents suddenly went stiff. They look at each other, hoping to come into agreement without speaking. Kaoru and Yuka seem to be the leader of the group. They give one final look at each other, and nod.

"To… kill Natsume and Mikan," Yuka says in an attempted-to-be-calm manner. She can't help but changing the pitch of her voice.

Once again, the six children look at them wide eyed.

"Why?" Ruka snaps. Mikan looks at him, surprised once again at his change in attitude. "They didn't do anything wrong!"

The parents have the same reaction as Mikan. Ruka notices this, and blushes in embarrassment.

"Sorry about the sudden outburst," he apologizes, "but Natsume and Mikan have pretty much no relation to the matter that happened in the past. It's not fair," Ruka says in a calm manner.

"We don't know exactly the motive behind why he would do this," Kaoru says in a sad voice and making no eye contact with anyone, "but there was this one couple in the past that had been in the same position as the two of you. It turned out terribly. They were killed as well," Kaoru says. Her eyes start watering, but she quickly wipes them away. "All that we know though, is that you two have to stay alive. We have to break this… curse," she finally says.

"It only makes sense that we have to kill that guy then," Natsume mentions nonchalantly. The others look at him in sadness and shock, but they understand where he's coming from.

"At this moment though, it's best for you guys to stay in hiding. If that's how we can break this prophecy… for good, then so be it. We'll deal with that," Yuka reassures.

Afterwards, the parents are expecting to hear more questions and outbursts from the children, but none come.

"We know that this is a lot to take in," Hotaru's dad finally speaks. "We'll give you guys some time, especially Natsume and Mikan."

"Wait," Ruka says. The faces of his friends look at him. "So where should they stay? At our place?"

"To be honest, we don't even feel that this is such a safe place for them to stay. The safest would be at Tsubasa's or Misaki's kingdom," Ruka's mom answers.

"The reason being that you and Hotaru have been good friends with them already. They might use that to their advantage. The same place goes with Youichi's place. Either way though, it's too far and too late to go there. To be really honest though, they can't be 100 percent safe in any kingdom, but Misaki's the best out of the choices," Hotaru's mom adds. The friends nod, showing that they understand. It makes sense, that man probably has sources as well. "Sources," meaning comrades.

"Since Misaki's place is the closest to here, should we bring them there?" Yukihira asks.

"Yes, we can. We'll let them have a small moment to themselves right now first," Hiro responds.

"So is it just Natsume and Mikan that are going?" Ruka asks.

"Of course, son," Ruka's dad answers.

"We're going," Hotaru butts in. Other than her boyfriend, the rest look at them in astonishment.

"We're their friends, and we do not want to leave them," Ruka responds before any of the parents can object.

"We can be their… bodyguards."

"We can't have you do that," Kaoru counters. "Even though the point is so that Natsume and Mikan don't die, you two dying for them is no better."

"I agree with Kaoru here," Yuka adds. "You two, even though they aren't aiming for you, that doesn't mean that you can put your lives on the line. You are just like them, you have parents that want you to come home, safe and sound," Yuka reassures.

"Then would it be worth the fact that we just want to help them be any better?" Ruka answers back. He just wants to desperately be of use to his friends. He would rather not sit in his own kingdom and do nothing. He's certain that his girlfriend feels the exact same way.

"We'll think about it. You guys may leave. Just stay around the house, and don't go farther than that," Yukihira concludes, holding his glass cup by the rim before taking a sip of water.

_~(^^)~_

The six just sit outside on the patio, not wanting to say anything. The sun is setting, creating a beautiful mix of purple, pink, orange and yellow in the sky. Aoi and Youichi, realizing that their senpais need some time alone, leave to sit on the playground. The four just sit there; each seems to be in their own little world. That is, until Ruka starts a conversation.

"We're not leaving you two," Ruka says, hoping to at least get his friends on their side.

Mikan and Natsume keep their heads facing the ground. Mikan puts her hand on his, causing Natsume to widen his eyes once again. He puts his hand on hers and the two tightens their grip, but not looking away from the ground. Natsume finally glances up and looks at Mikan, and she gives a gentle smile. He knows exactly their answer, and he obliges.

Mikan says their answer, knowing that Natsume prefers her to tell it to the two.

"We both feel that, for your safety, you two should stay here," she starts.

Ruka and Hotaru feel their insides sink.

"Natsume and I, we both thought, 'how would we feel in this situation?' 'Is it any better to stay here, in the possible comfort of knowing we're safe?'" She continues. Her two friends just look at her, wondering now what their answer will be.

"The reason that we're leaving this kingdom is because even here, it isn't safe. This place doesn't give comfort from safety. Not only that, but knowing the feeling of wanting to do something, but can't…" Mikan remembers the situation where she felt hopeless. She wasn't able to be of any help to Natsume and his situation with the attempted kidnappings. "The worry and the fear of your friends and their safety. The sudden impulse of conjuring up random situations in which their life might be in danger, when in reality, they may just be sitting on the ground, laughing heartedly at what another said," she reminisces out loud.

Ruka's and Hotaru's eyes glisten with hope.

"That is why you can come with us if you really want to," Mikan finals.

Hotaru and Ruka look at each other, and do a high-five.

"Also, we want to protect you guys as well," Natsume says with a sigh, "but that isn't going to happen if you guys are miles away."

"Well, then the decision's made," the four friends hear the recognizable voice.

"Mom?" Mikan says.

"We were planning on telling you guys that it is Natsume's and Mikan's decision whether or not their friends can come along for the ride," Yuka replies. "It seems the decision took less time than we thought," she adds.

"So if that's the case, then we should leave as soon as possible… after dinner," Kaoru joins in with a smile.

The four friends hear a loud grumble. They look at Mikan.

"Heh heh, I guess I'm a tad bit hungry," she replies with a sweadrop.

"Glutton," Natsume whispers. Mikan hears clearly though.

"No I am not!" Mikan retorts.

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not!"

"C-calm down you too," Ruka tries to break the fight, while Hotaru starts polishing her baka-gun.

Yuka and Kaoru look at the arguing pair, and the other couple around it. The two mothers are happy to see that hearing of this news hasn't affected their state of mind too much.

"I think they can do it," Yuka whispers to her friend.

"Of course, they're the unbreakable quartet," Kaoru responds. "They will make it through this tough time." Kaoru looks at the arguing pair once again. "Definitely."

The two parents decide it's time to break up the fight, and they usher them into the house for dinner.

With Natsume and Mikan still arguing, of course.

* * *

Read and review please! I'm not uploading until I get at least**_ two_** reviews for this chapter. :) Please read and review our other stories as well, and visit our blog, goldenstarlight at wordpress for statuses of our ongoing stories, info about completed ones, etc etc. (It's on our profile.)

Until next time,  
Sakura-tan.


	12. XII: Setting Off

**Writer & Editor: Sakura-tan**

**Disclaimer: Please refer to the last 11 chapters.**

* * *

_**Main characters & quick facts up to this point:**_

**Mikan: **Age 16, Power of Nullification. Natsume's Girlfriend. Yuka and Yukihira are her parents, and close with Natsume's and Hotaru's mainly, and on very good relations with the others as well. She has no siblings. _Princess of second-largest sector and second most powerful royals, Hanakura._

**Natsume: **Age 16, Power of Fire. Mikan's Boyfriend. Kaoru and Hiro are his mom and dad, respectively. Has a little sister named Aoi. Close with Mikan's and Ruka's family, though on very good relations with the rest. He has a little sister, named Aoi. _Prince of largest and most powerful sector, Kiminatsu._

**Ruka: **Age 16, No Power/Ability. Hotaru's Boyfriend. Parents are close friends with Natsume's, and on good terms with the others. _Prince of third-largest and third most powerful sector, along with Hotaru's kingdom._

**Hotaru: **Age 16, No Power/Ability. Ruka's Girlfriend. Parents are close with Mikan's, and on good terms with the others. Has a little brother. _Princess of third-largest and third most powerful sector, along with Ruka's kingdom._

_-o-o-o-o-o-_

Mikan and the gang realized that the attacks during lunch that day were intentional. Its focus is to hunt Natsume and Mikan down, because they are part of a prophecy. Now, the parents decided to bring the two (as well, Ruka and Hotaru, as they managed to convince the others to let them go as well) to a safer place—Misaki's Kingdom—until the situation is calmed down, or better yet, settled... for good.

* * *

_XII. Setting Off_

* * *

Yuka looks back at the sleeping figures at the back seats of the car, giving a small smile.

After dinner, they put their bags in the back trunk, and went into the car to Misaki's place. They didn't seem too upset though, surprisingly.

_~(^^)~_

_Twenty Minutes ago, Ruka's Mansion_

"Oh, so with the four of us going, what's going to happen to Youichi and Aoi?" Mikan asks as she waits for her friends to put in their bags.

Natsume's and Mikan's parents just look to the floor, not wanting to say the answer. Not only to them, but they don't want to say it for their benefit too. While Mikan is still gazing at them, Natsume looks to the ground as well, knowing the answer.

"What?" Mikan wonders. She can feel the awkward silence engulfing them.

"They're… they're going to stay at the Kiminatsu kingdom," Kaoru responds.

The friends (aside from Natsume) look at them in shock.

"W-what? Isn't that where the danger zone is?" Ruka says in a frightened tone.

"Wait, where are you guys going to stay?" Mikan shouts, not wanting to know the answer.

"We're going to stay in our kingdoms, of course," Yukihira responds.

"Mikan, we have to take care of the citizens," Yuka tries to calm her daughter. She seems to be breaking down.

"No! Aoi and Youichi, they're both younger than us! They might die there! Are you sure it's such a good idea?" Mikan says.

"No, they won't. We have armies, Mikan. We have everything under control. We're prepared for this, remember?" Kaoru tries to reassure.

"But… but—"

"Mikan onee-chan, we'll be fine," Youichi joins in.

"Yeah Mikan-chan, we have our parents with us too, so there's no need to worry!" Aoi adds in a happy and confident voice. This calms the friends down.

"So I'm assuming Youichi isn't going home?" Ruka wonders thinks out loud.

"It's too dangerous going on a plane in this situation. His parents have already been notified. They know what's going on, no worries," Hiro responds.

"It's almost 10. We should head off now," Yukihira says as he looks at his watch.

The friends look at each other, and they go to their parents to hug them one last time.

"Ruka, stay safe okay? Don't do anything reckless. Don't put your friends in a tough situation, okay?" Ruka's mom tells him as she and her husband keep him in a tight embrace.

"Of course, mom," Ruka says as he hugs back.

"Hotaru, take care of your friends. Don't cause trouble, however. You know how hurt they will be if something were to happen to you," Hotaru's dad comforts.

"Mhmm," Hotaru replies. They break from their embrace, Hotaru's mom on the verge of tears. "Tell otouto to not be stupid, okay?"

The parents sweatdrop.

"Natsume-kunnn! I'll miss you! Stay safe!" Kaoru says in a loud voice.

"Same here!" Hiro imitates. "You better be a good kid! Don't make others worry about youuu!"

"…" Natsume replies. The two parents are hugging him as if he was going to a boarding school for life or something.

"Onii-chan," Aoi says in a small voice. It was as if, if she were about to say it any louder, she would break down into tears.

"Aoi," Natsume says in a whisper as he breaks from the parents hug, and Aoi runs into his arms.

Aoi finally breaks down.

"D-Don't do anything stupid! T-Take care of the others, but don't… die for them, o-okay? I w-want you to come home!" She shouts as she buries her face into his arms. Their parents look at them. Kaoru cries onto his husband's shoulder, while he just lets his tears fall onto the ground. He looks at them with an attempt to smile, but failing.

"I won't, stupid," Natsume whispers back. "I promise. I'll come home." He hugs his sister as she continues crying. Natsume looks up, and ushers Youichi to join them.

"Take care, Natsume-onii-chan," is all he says.

"Mikan. You are our only daughter, so don't you DARE do anything idiotic, or stupid, or impulsive, or—"

"Yuka honey, it's not the time to scold her." Yukihira laughs. "You can do that in the car. Let's just say our final words to her before setting off."

"Fine fine…" Yuka hugs Mikan tightly, and Yukihira joins in.

Mikan starts tearing up a bit.

"Everything will be alright, Mikan-chan," Yuka starts. "Just keep smiling that smile of yours, and you guys will be fine," she starts, choking a bit in her sentences as tears start falling down her cheek.

"You two as well, mom and dad," Mikan replies as she buries her face on her parents' shoulders.

With that, Yuka and Yukihira jump into the front seat of the car, and the four go into the back seats.

They wave as they drive out of the parking lot, and onto the streets.

_~(^^)~_

_Present time, Yuka and Yukihira's car_

They continue to let the four sleep as they drive to Misaki's place.

"Turn left here," Yuka whispers. Yukihira does what she says.

"Natsume you baka!" Mikan yells in her sleep. "Don't take my howalons…"

The parents sweatdrop.

"Our strange daughter… our very strange daughter…" Yuka says, while her husband laughs. "She got that from you," Yuka retorts.

"Is that supposed to be an insult or a compliment?" Yukihira asks jokingly, as they turn into the driveway of Misaki's mansion.

"WHOA! IS THIS MISAKI'S HOUSE?" Mikan shouts, waking her friends up, and startling her parents.

"M-Mikan, you're awake already?" Yuka asks as she puts her right hand on her chest, as if she just got a heart attack or something.

"Yep! Just in time too!" She shouts with excitement.

"You're an idiot," Natsume mumbles.

"Hey!" Mikan counters.

"She is," Yuka says as she sighs. Yukihira laughs as he gets out of the car. He greets the family waiting upon their arrival.

"It's great to see you again, Yukihira," they see who seems to be Misaki's dad says.

"It's great to see you again too," Yukihira greets, as he sees Yuka and the others unload their baggage from the car. In the end, they got Misaki's butlers to do it for them.

Finally, everything is out of the trunk, and Yuka calls on them.

"Oh guyyyys, I'm going to miss you! Let's do one more hug before we go!" Yuka shouts, reminding Natsume of his mom for a brief moment.

Mikan does it without complaint, as if she really needs the hug. She drags Hotaru into it, while Ruka does that with Natsume.

"Stay together guys," Yuka advises as she keeps a tight hold of the hug, "and know what you're doing before you do it. Don't do anything on a whim, and be aware of your surroundings. Don't get into trouble!"

"We won't mom," Mikan replies for her friends and her as well.

Yuka leaves the friends by themselves and chats with Misaki's dad, and later Misaki's mom as well, as she comes towards the group. The group of friends just chat by themselves, letting the parents talk about… parent stuff.

"You have the key, right?" Yuka asks.

"Yep. We put it in a safe spot," Misaki's dad replies.

"Good. Use it when you think they're ready to learn about it. The key is fragile. It may break after use, so we have pretty much one try at this," Yukihira continues.

"Okay. We understand," Misaki's mom remarks. "I just hope we can do this when the time comes."

"It's fine. Just lock the key in place, and it should work fine from there. Make sure the light turns green before you open the handle."

"Gotcha."

After a few more minutes or so, Yuka and Yukihira walks back into the car, after giving one more glance at the four teens.

"Take care guys," Yukihira says, and the turns the car on.

"See you soon!" Mikan replies back.

They see the car back up, onto the driveway, and leave their view.

_~(^^)~_

"Welcome to our kingdom," Misaki's mom greets happily. "Natsume came here a bunch of times, but I'm assuming you three haven't?"

"I came here a couple times," Ruka remarks.

"Oh, that's right." Misaki's mom puts her finger on her chin as she tries to recall the times he was here. "So then you two," she glances at the two girls, "I'll give you guys a tour of the house, if you want. Or the guys can do it instead."

"We're fine, thank you. I think Ruka and Natsume can lead us around," Mikan replies.

"Oh, that's good then. Misaki's still at Tsubasa's place. She'll come back soon though, so I'll be sure to let her know you guys are here. Now, Natsume, you and Ruka's room is upstairs to the right, and the girls are on the other side. My butlers have put your suitcases in the rooms already, so you can do what you want from here. Just be sure to go to bed early, okay?"

"Okay," Natsume replies.

Then Misaki's mom is just about to leave when Mikan pulls onto her shirt, like a little girl.

"S-sorry, but uhmm, does Misaki and Tsubasa know about our situation?"

"Yep, both of our families know. It's all over the news," she replies, then chuckles a bit. "Maybe you guys should watch that, and see what's going on. It may give you some more information."

"Thank you for the offer," Ruka thanks.

"No problem."

Then she finally leaves, leaving the four friends in the den. Natsume and Ruka give them a tour around the house, mainly showing them where the washrooms are, and where the kitchen is—basically, the basics. They go downstairs, where the home theatre is situated, and they watch the news.

Natsume turns the TV on, and they sit on comfortable couches that are set up in front of it.

"… _**planes that seem to be only attacking Hanakura and Kiminatsu at this moment. The reason however is unknown. Officials are trying to get a hold of the royals, but they are not giving any details of this moment. They said that they are dealing with the problem as they speak, and would appreciate if no one bothers them. Some citizens understand their resolve of this matter, and think that it's right not to bother them even more and cause disruption. However, some are furious that they are not getting any valuable information on this sudden attack. Here are just some words from the citizens of these two sectors."**_

"_**I am furious. These are the people who represent us, and yet, the people they are representing are not in on any of this? My house was burned down!"**_

"_**I understand that this is a hard time to go through. They are human as well, and they need some time alone. The royals have never failed us, and in this time of need, I believe that they will get this under control."**_

"_**To be honest, I wish that they would at least give us some information about what is going on. I don't recall the royals doing anything to deserve this though, and feel that getting out of their way would be the best. They will probably tell us what happened when this is resolved."**_

Natsume flips to another channel to find more information, and none of his friends object.

"… _**that so far there have been no major casualties. 5 have been sent to the hospital to be treated for minor burns, and many are housed in school gyms as their houses are to being reconstructed. However, overall, nothing major has been confirmed."**_

The friends give a sigh of relief.

"_**Thank you Anna for this information, and we're glad to hear that. Now we join Nonoko for information about the royals' reaction on this matter."**_

"_**Thank you Sumire. The royals have not given any information as of this matter yet. They said however, that this matter will get solved as soon as possible, and hope to get with the public when they can. They are communicating with the other sectors as we speak. They would rather that the public just calm down and to leave them be for a while."**_

Natsume changes the channel once again, and then the four freeze. They are seeing footage that citizens have submitted, and are shocked to see the destruction. Houses are on fire, and people are screaming out onto the streets, with some carrying their crying babies. There were some after footages as well, people crying as they see what remains of their house, and their property. The footage showing stops and a news reporter pops onto the screen.

"_**What you just saw was some of the destruction in the sectors of Kiminatsu and Hanakura as an air attack has fallen upon this peaceful and well-developed nation. The royals of these sectors are not speaking, and caused citizens to sit and wait for information. Some are hearing that they are going to call for the army on this matter, and use brutal force to keep the citizens calm. This has never happened in the history of this country, and—"**_

"STOP!" Mikan shouts, and Natsume immediately turns the TV off, realizing that the news has been hurting Mikan.

Ruka and Hotaru look at her in shock as tears start streaming down her cheek.

"Mikan…" Hotaru manages to muster out.

"It's… n-not right… o-our parents are d-doing the best they c-can," she says between her sobs. Natsume hugs her, and she hugs back, crying on his shoulder.

"They are, and that's why it's causing a split opinion between the citizens. However, we know exactly what's going on. Everyone is confused... even the idiotic news personnel," Natsume says irritably.

Mikan wipes her tears from her eyes, and stops crying.

"Our parents, they won't bring in the army, will they?"

"Of course not," Ruka says with complete confidence. "The news station that said that is ridiculous. This has never happened before, and this will not happen. Your and Natsume's parents would never do that to their citizens."

"Mikan, our parents, they said that they have everything under control. Knowing them, they will only bring the army in to keep the invaders out of this country, and to protect the public. Most citizens know this as well. I have never heard one citizen say that they have no confidence in the royals of this country," Hotaru reassures. "They are just rumors."

The friends just sit in silence, not one wanting to turn the TV back on. Not only for Mikan's sake, but for theirs as well. Ruka takes out his cellphone, and looks at the time.

_**11:57pm.**_

"What is the time, Ruka?" Hotaru asks, wanting to know.

"It's midnight," he replies. "I guess we should go to bed."

The other three friends follow his lead willingly, feeling worn out.

_~(^^)~_

Everyone in the house is fast asleep, except for one who is attempting to fall asleep, but failing. She tosses and turns in her bed, trying to find a comfortable pose to daze off. However, she gives up in the end.

"_Maybe going outside would calm me down," _Mikan thinks, and she puts on her slippers, walk quietly and slowly to her suitcase, and grabs a sweater. She puts it on, and tip toes out of the room, hoping to not wake her best friend.

She sneaks outside, and takes a long breath of the fresh air. She starts thinking and walks at the same time.

"_It only makes sense that killing the person in charge of everything would work. Is there another way? Killing just isn't right... whatever!" _Mikan shakes her head, and tries to clear her head. _"Worrying about something like this isn't good for the brain!"_

She continues walking, in awe at her surroundings. She has never been to Misaki's place, and never thought that her first would be to go into hiding.

Suddenly, Mikan hears a twig snap. She bolts around right to the noise. Then, she hears another, and another. Feeling frightened, she is about to run into the house when she realized that leading an intruder into the house where her best friends are... is not necessarily a good idea.

"Who's there?" She shouts with confidence.

She sees a bolt of bright purple light and immediately knows what to do—she nullifies it, and she does it successfully.

"Well, it seems that I met an interesting person," the intruder announces to her as he comes out in the shadows.

"This is Harada territory, so you're not allowed here. I c-can c-call the officials," Mikan replies, stuttering at the last few words. She tries to look at his features and put them into memory while stepping back.

It's a man, with dark brown hair, and dark blue eyes. He has an average build, not too stocky, but not too lanky. He is currently wearing a black hat, and a long coat that matches his hat. He is wearing a red-orange colored robe underneath.

"Hmm, but what if I kill you here and now? Mikan."

Mikan looks at the intruder in surprise and shock. _"How does he know my name? Why is he wearing an elegant robe as if he was..." _Then Mikan recalls when her tutor taught her history, when she learned about the clothing that was worn in the 1700's to 1800's in this country for formal ceremonies. She snaps her head towards him, and she can't help but look at him with a look of fear. The man notices her change in expression, and sneers.

_~(^^)~_

Natsume's eyes snap open from his slumber, having a gut feeling that something bad is about to happen. He gets up, and grabs his sweater from his suitcase, caring more about getting out of the room as fast as possible than keeping quiet. Ruka wakes up, being a sensitive sleeper.

"Hmm Natsume?" Ruka rubs his eyes, and then sits up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Natsume is about to open the door when his best friend's voice stops him.

"What's going on? Why are you going out at this hour?"

"Because Mikan's missing," Hotaru's voice butts in.

"What?" Ruka is wide awake now. "Natsu—" He looks to his friend to that he has scrambled out of the door already.

"_There's something wrong... what is this gut feeling that's telling me to run after her?" _Natsume ponders.

Ruka grabs the coat he left on top of his jacket, and grabs a sweater for his girlfriend. Hotaru takes it roughly as he hands it to her, and they catch up to Natsume. They just walked out the door when Ruka and Hotaru don't know where to go from here.

"Where do you think she i—" Ruka stops in the middle of his sentence when he sees Natsume start running to the side of the house, as if he knows for sure where she is. Hotaru and Ruka run after him.

"Natsume! How do you know she's there?" Ruka asks as he and he girlfriend tries to keep up with him.

"Gut feeling." Natsume freezes when he sees Mikan with an unfamiliar man. Hotaru and Ruka look in the direction he is looking at.

"He's got some stupid style," Hotaru inputs, causing her boyfriend to sweatdrop.

Natsume puts his index finger to his lip, signaling them to be quiet.

"Stay here," he whispers, and his friends oblige. They know he knows what he is doing, being the person that's most experienced with these types of situations.

He hides and then jumps tree to tree as quiet as a mouse. His two friends look at him in awe. He stops once he is just a couple trees exactly behind the intruder, and then camouflages into the trees, and listens in onto their conversation.

"Don't you dare hurt my boyfriend," she growls, surprising Natsume.

"Don't worry, you'll be long gone before I could touch him." Then, the man blasts another purple ball towards Mikan, and she deflects it with ease. However, the man is shooting them consecutively, one after the other, and Mikan is starting to get weaker and weaker with her defense. She continues shouting as she is keeping her nullification up.

"Why are you doing this? This happened in the past! Why are you hurting other people who haven't done anything wrong?"

"I WILL DO WHAT I WANT IN MY OWN WAY!" The man hollers back, and his shooting becomes faster and faster, and harder and harder, his hair shielding his eyes from being seen. Mikan's shield is just about to give away when she hears the man in front of her cry out in pain. She slowly opens her eyes to see that Natsume has thrown a fireball towards him, and successfully hit its target. That action got Ruka and Hotaru to run to the scene.

"Mikan! Are you alright?" Ruka and Hotaru look at her with worry.

"I-I'm fine," she replies. She looks for Natsume, but cannot see where he is. After a small moment, he comes out from his hiding place. He seems to have jumped down from the tree he nestled in before. He is holding a fireball, lighting his upset face. The man looks up to him.

"Well, I see it is Hyuuga Natsume." Natsume doesn't seem the least bit surprised that this stranger knows his name. After all, everyone living in this country knows.

"Who are you."

"I'm surprised you don't know me. After all, I'd assume your parents would tell you who I am."

The friends look at him, now knowing for sure who it is they are facing. However, he looks into the distance as he sees lights in houses turn on to see the racket that they emitted.

"This isn't over. Next time I see you," he glares at Natsume and Mikan specifically, "you two will be saying your last wishes... Hikaru and Nadeshiko." He runs away from the scene, leaving the four teens stunned.

"Why...who... what did he call us...?" Mikan can't even utter the words.

"Hikaru and Nadeshiko were the couple that we mentioned about," a male voice is heard behind them. Mikan jumps up and faces the man, expecting more action.

Instead, it was just Misaki's dad, and her wife and daughter.

"What happened here? We heard shouting!" Misaki hollers as she runs up to them.

"That person... that man... he's the one who killed them!" Ruka cries.

The wife and husband look at each other, and give a sigh. They look back at the teens.

"Wait, mom and dad, what's going on?"

"Misaki, we'll explain everything later. First, all of you guys need some rest," Misaki's mom replies." I want you guys to be downstairs in the kitchen at 10am. Got that?" She glances at the four teens, and they nod in agreement. They follow the three with no complaint and slip into their beds. They all dose off in a matter of seconds, feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything that has happened that day, into a deep slumber.

_~(^^)~_

Finally, it is late morning. The teens are eating their breakfast, the four not as talkative and outgoing, whether because of fatigue, and/or the situation they are facing. After a while, the four teens are done their breakfast, and started chatting away, yet still attentive to hear their next instruction. Soon, Misaki's mom stands up.

"Come with me." She ushers them to come, leaving Misaki's dad to stay with Misaki at the breakfast table. The four can tell that Misaki's dad is going to tell his daughter what's going on while they are away.

"The key's in the drawer in the den," Misaki's dad advises his wife. She nods in agreement, and the teens follow her.

"Wait, what are we doing?" Mikan asks.

"We're going to show you exactly what happened 200 years ago." Misaki's mom grabs the key where her husband said it would be. She then ushers them to come with her again.

"Wait, how are you going to show us?"

"There's an invisible door in every royal families' house. Of course, since it's invisible, you cannot see it. What is inside it, well, you're about to find out," Misaki's mom replies. They walk in silence the rest of the way, and then they stop at a wall.

The friends look at the wall. They still can't help but question in their mind about the fact that they were facing a blank, boring wall. Misaki's mom takes the key, and inserts it onto the gold-colored lock. Then, the lock turns, and they see the wall—the invisible door—open, and notice a dark blue swirl going around and around. It looked like a door in a cartoon movie. It seemed as if, if you were to step into it, it would bring them to an alternate dimension or something.

"Do... you want us to go inside?" Mikan asks with uncertainty.

"Yep. It's a time portal. What it does is that it will bring you to the time and situation you want to see, and it'll show you, exactly what happened. In this case, we're going to show you what happened to Nadeshiko and Hikaru. Who you just met outside last night was Katsuro. He killed the two."

The four friends look at her in shock, and of course, fear. Misaki's mom manages to answer their question of doubt.

"Don't worry, the portal is stable. All of your parents used it, even us. Also, just as a note, time freezes when you're inside, so when you come out, it's as if time didn't really pass at all. Maybe a few minutes or so, but not more than a couple hours. Okay?" The teens nod, feeling a bit more relieved that this has been used before.

"Go in, one by one, or all at once if you really want to!" She jokes, hoping to lighten the atmosphere. "I'm going to close the door, and you might feel occasional shakes in the portal. That's just showing that they are showing a time skip. I'll indicate to the portal the situation. You guys just have to stay in there. Alright?"

The teens nod in response again.

"Alright!" She closes the door, and they feel the 'ground' shake.

The teens look at what's in front of them. It seems that they are now in the past—where everything started.

* * *

So the next couple chapters will be on the past. I'll try to keep it interesting, don't worry. :) I'll update when I get at least **three reviews. **The blog is on our profile. :D (goldenstarlight at wordpress.)

Over and out!  
-Sakura-tan


	13. XIII: The Beginning

Hey readers, it's Sakura-tan again. For the next couple chapters, we're going to go to the _past_, just as a reminder. However, I'll try to keep it as relevant as possible, so it will go by smoothly.** Just a note, Hanakura and the other sectors were not made yet as of this date (200 years ago), so it was still "one" country. **:)

Happy reading!  
-Sakura-tan

**Writer and Editor: **Sakura-tan, with help from Kyoko-tan for various purposes. :)

**Disclaimer: **Me do not own Gakuen Alice. Higuchi Tachibana own. I do own the OCs though: Nadeshiko & family, Hikaru & family, Katsuro & family, etc.

* * *

_Miracles... they are an unexplainable gift,  
a gift that the human mind can't process right away because of its grand,  
a gift possessing great love and comfort,  
a gift to be grateful for and cherished for forever and ever,  
a gift that people need in times of great grief...  
... but is really unlikely to come._

* * *

_XIII. The Beginning_

* * *

_200 years ago, May, country of Kiminatsu_

"Nadeshiko! Come down this instant!" The mom yells to her daughter. "I can't believe this! You're going to be late... again!"

"Hai hai! Sorry!" She shouts back as she puts on her floral dress. It has lace on the rims of it. It tightens nicely at her waist, and flares out elegantly down. She combs her hair as fast as can, and runs downstairs.

"Goodness Nadeshiko, you're going to see the man you're engaged," the mom comments as she puts the plate of food in front of her. "The least you can do is to at least wake up on time."

"Sorry about that, I guess playing too much basketball tires you out," she replies as she sweatdrops.

"You broke another pair of sandals again, and ripped another dress. Money doesn't grow on trees, honey."

"I know, I know. It's just that... being in a dress is too... what's the word..."

"How am I supposed to know? You're the one that's taking English lessons, not me."

"But anyways. What is this about being engaged?"

"We found a man that is suited for you. We think you two will get along fine."

"Is he a nerd?"

"No honey. Your dad and I know that if you're engaged to a guy like that, it won't turn out well. Actually, he's quite athletic, like you."

"Hmm, I'll like him," she says in an excited voice.

"You better! I just hope he'll like you back..."

"Hey! I'm not _that_ bad!"

"No, I mean I just hope that won't 'like' you just because of the fact we're a rich family," she says as she sighs.

"Don't worry mom. If I find out that he does, I'll beat him senseless," she replies as she lifts up her fist. The mom replies with a sweatdrop.

"Okay honey, run along now, or you'll be late."

"Yeah yeah." She stuffs rice in her mouth and gets up.

"Wait, you didn't even touch your food."

"I jwust did," she replies with rice in her mouth, and then grabs her jacket and bolts out the door.

"Nadeshiko... when are you ever going to learn..." the mom sighs and shakes her head, taking her food as her breakfast.

_~(^^)~_

"Good morning dad!" Nadeshiko shouts to him as he wipes his car and drinks a large sip of water. "Ooh, shiny," she replies.

"That's the point. Where are you headed at this hour?"

"To my future husband..." the dad spits his water out in shock at his daughter's remark.

"Your... future husband?" He stutters as he wipes his mouth.

"I thought mom told you. She found another candidate for me."

"Well, that's good. Let's hope this one doesn't vomit on you."

"Ugh, I didn't need that visual, dad."

"Yeah yeah. So, are you going to walk to his house or do you need a ride?"

"I'll walk, it's nice out anyways. Mom gave me the directions already, so no worries. I'll be back soon." Nadeshiko stretches and walks out the driveway. "See you later!"

The dad replies with a wave of the hand.

_~(^^)~_

"_It's such a nice day out!" _Nadeshiko thinks to herself happily as she breathes in the fresh, cool air. _"I wonder what type of guy he is? My mom said that he's athletic, but is it the annoying, stuck-up ones? Or the modest one?"_

As she is thinking, she doesn't notice someone running at her. That 'someone' doesn't notice her either, running with his head facing the ground, and the hat blocking his view. They bump into each other, causing both to fall onto the soil.

"I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention!" Nadeshiko apologizes as she rubs her head from the impact, not looking up. When she doesn't hear a reply, she looks towards the 'victim' in question.

She takes in his features. He has jet black hair and dark brown eyes. He is wearing a beige-colored cap, blocking his eyes from the sun. He is wearing a red t-shirt under his dirty green sweater, and black basketball shorts. He looks about her age, and a bit taller than her.

"Sorry about that," Nadeshiko replies. "Did you get hurt?" She offers him a hand, and he takes it after a moment of hesitation. Still, he doesn't reply.

"_Is he deaf?" _She wonders. However, surprisingly, he finally responds.

"I-I'm fine," he replies in a quiet, soft tone. "Thank you."

"No problem!" She says, trying to loosen the atmosphere. "I'm Nadeshiko! What's your name?"

He looks at her for a second, as if he is trying to figure out if she has a disability or something. However, he replies nonetheless.

"I'm Hikaru."

"It's nice to meet you! Well, I guess I have to go now," she replies looking at her watch. What she receives as a reply is the teen looking at her. "What?"

"You have a spider on your head."

"Eh? EHHHHHHH?" She screams as she runs in circles, until she is finally certain that it is off her head. Surprisingly, she hears a chuckle.

"Y-you're so stupid!" She hears her new friend cry.

"Hey! You smiled! You know, you look nice when you smile!" She suddenly freezes at her sudden outburst. Hikaru looks at her and then turns his face to hide the incoming blush.

"You're weird," he whispers.

"Anyways, gotta go! I'm gonna be late!" She chants the last few words. "I'll see you later!" She shouts. She doesn't even know if she's going to come around this street any time soon after this, but she has a feeling that she is going to be seeing this mysterious boy again.

_~(^^)~_

A knock on the door is heard.

"Katsuro, get the door!" The mom yells.

"Yeah!" He hollers as he runs to the door, opens it, and greets his guest. "Hi, I'm assuming you're Nadeshiko?"

"Yeah, that's me," she replies nervously.

"Come in." She takes her sandals off and follows him towards the den.

"It's nice to meet you," Katsuro starts the conversation.

"I-It's nice to meet you as w-well," she stutters.

Katsuro, a man of 16, same age as Nadeshiko, has short dark brown colored hair, with dark blue eyes. It seems to be almost the opposite of her. She has long light brown hair and bright blue eyes.

She and Katsuro chat more, Nadeshiko feeling more and more relaxed as it wore on. She learned a lot about him. He loves soccer, basketball, and football. His favorite color is dark green. He likes takoyaki more than taiyaki.

He learned about a lot about Nadeshiko too. Nadeshiko loves swimming, soccer, basketball, and every other imaginable sport. She likes being outdoors, even when it is raining. Her favorite color is purple. She loves sweets.

"How about some lunch?" Katsuro suggests.

"Oh, sure. I'm starving," Nadeshiko replies back, remembering that she didn't really eat any breakfast.

She looks at the food set on their family's table. Is this what an average classman has for lunch every day? It's a simple lunch with little choices. Miso soup, rice, and a little of vegetable. Nadeshiko disregards it, thankful nonetheless.

"Thank you," she says when what seems to be Katsuro's mom passes a plate to her.

"No problem, sweetie. Eat up! I know this probably different from what your family usually eats, but we're kind of poor. We don't have much," she replies.

"It's fine. I haven't had miso soup in a while!" The family laughs at her cheerfulness and remark, and they dig in.

It's around 4pm when she leaves the house.

When she gets to the trail again, she hopes to see the mysterious boy named Hikaru. She looks around the trees. After a while, she spots a small figure sitting under the tree. She immediately realizes it's the boy.

"Hey!" She shouts as she walks up to him. He is climbing a tree, almost falling from the sudden outburst below him.

"Hi," he says as he looks down.

"What are you doing?"

"Sitting on the tree, duh," he replies. He pats on the side ushering her to sit beside him on the tree.

Nadeshiko tries to look for a footing and tries to get up. She keeps on slipping, so she throws her sandals onto the floor, and climbs up onto it with her stockings. She succeeds, and sits beside her new friend, and gives a content sigh when a nice cool breeze hits them.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Hikaru comments, a smile widening on his face.

"Yes, it's really nice," she responds with her eyes closed.

"This is my secret hiding spot. I don't show it to anyone." Nadeshiko looks at him.

"Why did you show it to me then?"

"For some reason... I trust you," he answers, looking onto the floor, where Nadeshiko's sandals lay.

"That's good. I hope we become good friends then!" She hollers excitingly. Hikaru just looks at her with a nod, and then looks back down.

"Why did you come here," Hikaru says in more of a statement than a question.

"Well, I was stopping by at—" _"no, 'fiancé' doesn't seem right at the moment."_ "—at... a friend's house. I decided to take a different route this time."

"Oh okay. I was wondering why I never see you here."

"So I'm assuming you come here often?"

"Every day. I have to visit my grandma."

"Oh, how is she?"

"She's dead."

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" She puts her hand on her mouth, feeling guilty for asking.

"No problem. My parents pretty much force me to. I never really met her. She died when I was young. However, I remember how she would always give me a candy or a gift of some sort when she visits us."

"Oh, that's nice. Most of my grandparents died before I was born. The only one that still alive is my grandma on my mother's side. Even then though, she lives in another country and she doesn't come to visit us really often." Nadeshiko looks at Hikaru through the side of her eyes. "Were you here since morning?"

"Yeah. It's peaceful here. It's chaotic in my house."

"Family problems?"

"No. Just too many people in the house. I prefer being outside by myself." Hikaru looks at Nadeshiko. "Well, being with a friend is fine every so often."

"That's good," Nadeshiko responds. Then, they sit in comfortable silence for a while, looking at younger kids playing with a ball down in the park. Nadeshiko decides that she wants to know more about this friend of hers. After all, she learned a lot about Katsuro already, so why not another friend?

"So, what's your favorite color?"

Hikaru looks at her with a bizarre look, as if that question was what a very young child asks.

"Dark blue and orange." He eyes her again. "What about you?"

"I like purple. It's a relaxing and calming color, in my opinion." She looks at him as well, and does a small smirk. "Dark blue and orange are strange color choices."

"How so?"

"They are so... random, I guess."

"Orange is like a sunset, and dark blue is the clear sky at night. What's not to like?" He says in irritation. Nadeshiko laughs. "What?"

"I just find it ironic how you're talking about something so pretty when you're mad!"

Hikaru looks away. "Shut up. You're annoying."

Nadeshiko glares at him. "Well, I'm so sorry," she says sarcastically, then jumps down the tree. "Anyways, I have to go home. My parents are going to yell at me if I don't." She is about to walk away when Hikaru's voice causes her to stop.

"Are you going to come back tomorrow?"

Nadeshiko smiles, not looking back. "Yeah yeah..." she waves her hand in the air not turning back. "I'll see you later!"

When Nadeshiko's figure is out of sight, Hikaru jumps of the tree with ease, and walks home.

He approaches the mansion with a garden full of flowers at the front lawn, and knocks four times in a pattern, signaling that it's him. He hears the sound of feet walking towards the door, and a lady's figure opens the door.

"Goodness Hikaru, what took you so long? Mom was worried sick!"

"Whatever. She always is. Let her be," Hikaru replies back.

"Anyways, go help dad bring the groceries into the house little prince. The butlers are off today," she suggests. "The limo's in the garage."

"Yeah yeah, old princess," Hikaru replies as he walks towards the garage door. It has enough room for at least three vans... and a limo. He calls out to his dad, "dad! I'm back!"

"Hey Hikaru, welcome back. Can you help me bring the groceries in?"

"Already on it," Hikaru replies.

"Thanks. There's still some food on the table, if you want. You missed lunch."

"I wasn't very hungry though."

"Since you're not hungry, how about unloading this stuff for me in the meanwhile instead of standing there?"

"Yeah yeah..."

_~(^^)~_

"So how was it?" Nadeshiko's dad asks his daughter at the dinner table.

"How was what?" She asks in a daze, picking at her food.

"... Your first meeting with your fiancé, stupid," her little brother retorts.

"Huh? Oh! Uhh... it was... good?" She says as she looks to the floor. Her family looks at her with their eyebrows raised. "Okay, fine. I don't think he's necessarily my type."

The family sighs again.

"Okay, what is it this time?" Nadeshiko's mom asks. "You didn't like that the previous man because he did karate, the one before you complained that he had a twitch in his eye, and the one before that you said you didn't like how he picked his teeth with a toothpick."

Nadeshiko puffs her cheeks in irritation. "Well this time I have a more valid reason, thank you very much," she says with sarcasm.

"Continue..." the little brother drags.

"He's just the complete opposite of me..."

"How so?" The dad asks.

"He hates sweets, he, for some odd reason, likes dark green, and he hates rain!"

"Anything else?" The mom asks.

"Well, he has dark brown hair, where I have light brown, and he has dark blue eyes, and I have light blue!"

"Okay now you're getting ridiculous."

"He likes takoyaki more than taiyaki, and he thinks that figure skating is weird." She starts stabbing her food with her chopsticks. "And also, they're poor," she grumbles to himself. However, the parents hear her.

"Oh I see what's going on then. You don't like him because he's poor?" Nadehiko's mom eyes her, crossing her arms.

"No, that's not the only reason..." She trails off. "I just don't feel... it's going to work out," she mumbles.

"Well, you're stuck with him until you find another boy."

Nadeshiko growls, stabbing her vegetable with both her chopsticks. "Fine."

_~(^^)~_

After that day, Nadeshiko met with Hikaru as often as she could, and occasionally Katsuro when her parents forced her to. Her parents didn't know of her meetings with Hikaru, they just assumed that she was just outside with her school friends or Katsuro... or so they thought.

"Hikaruuuuuuu!" Nadeshiko calls on him as she runs in her boots and winter coat, her exhales visible in the frosty air.

She sees him sitting on the ground, the snow-covered ground.

"How are you not cold? Isn't your butt wet from the snow?"

Hikaru freezes, not from the cold, but from her observation. _"Dang it," _he thinks. He gives a deep sigh. "I'll tell you something, but you must not tell anyone."

Nadeshiko looks at him, raising a brow. "Sure. What's up?" She looks bends her knees and kneels on the snow.

Hikaru lifts his hand, pointing to the sky. Then, a small fireball instantly appears on the tip of his finger.

"Whoa, how did you do that."

"I was born with a power called an 'Alice'," he informs her.

"That's so cool! So, does your whole family have it?"

"No. No one I know has it. That's why I'm not supposed to tell anyone. Apparently it's really rare, next to impossible for someone to get it."

"So you're the prince of this country, AND you have an 'alice'? That's so cool!"

Hikaru still can't help but almost chuckle remembering how she reacted when she found out.

"_Whoa Hikaru! Your house is huge!" She shouts, awing at everything._

"_It's not that big..."_

_Hikaru invited Nadeshiko to his house, since his parents are away on a small business trip._

"_No, it is! You know, my friends always tell me that _my_ house is big, but yours is... humongous!"_

"_Well, isn't that expected of the royal family?" A feminine voice joins in._

"_Whoa, who are you?"_

"_I'm his sister, Kimi. Nice to meet you." Kimi shakes her hand, and Nadeshiko smiles at her._

"_So what do you mean by 'royal family'?" Nadeshiko asks as she continues shaking her hand._

"_... We rule this whole country," Kimi responds, astonished that this girl doesn't know that, dropping her arm._

"_Whoa... what?" She shouts, her mouth drops open. Then she bows furiously, moving the top half of her body up and down._

"_Calm down, you don't have to be so formal. It's fine. I'm happy to see that my little brother has finally made a friend."_

"_I'm sorry~!" She cries._

_The two sweatdrop._

"Apparently so," he responds. "Do you want to sit?"

"N-no, it's fine. I just came here to see if you were here. I have to go home early today. Sorry about the short notice. I didn't even know we had plans later this afternoon.

"It's fine."

"I-I'll see you later, okay?" Nadeshiko feels a bit sad that she can't hang out with her best friend.

Yes, _best friend._ When school was out in June, she and Hikaru started seeing each other pretty much every day. She has went to his house tons and tons of times, but he didn't ever go to hers, and didn't ask, surprisingly. These several months got them closer and closer together.

She walks home thinking, not saying anything. It's too cold anyways. This region is on the north-most tip of the country, so the weather is a lot cooler than the south, which probably doesn't have snow in the middle of December like them.

"_I still have to think of a way to get out of this engagement," _Nadeshiko thinks to herself. _"My parents say that I'll eventually like him. However, my feelings for him haven't changed at all..." _She continues pondering on what to do, like run away from home (which would never work... she doesn't want to run away anyways), tell him with a straightforward voice that she doesn't like him (but she doesn't want to hurt his feelings), or even make one of Hikaru's butlers send a message to him telling him the engagement is off (which is absolutely ridiculous). Thinking about this last point, her mind drifts off to Hikaru.

"_Hikaru... how are you doing?" _She thinks. _"I wish I could ask you all of these questions, but I just don't know how to bring them up..."_

She snaps back to reality when she realizes that she is just a couple houses away from her home. She runs down, feeling a chill from the wind, and opens the door.

She is greeted by her parents glaring at her. Her mom is tapping her foot, with her arms crossed, while her dad is sitting, his head resting on his arm, and his other arms tapping the kitchen table.

"Want to explain to us what you were doing out at this hour?" Her mom asks.

"W-well, I was just going on a stroll... you know, it's nice out..."

"A stroll where?"

"Uhh..." Nadeshiko fiddles with her fingers, still standing at the front door with her boots on. "Well, I was... you know... the park! Yeah, the park! I was taking a stroll around the park."

"Nice try honey," the dad jokes back.

"W-what do you mean?"

"We got your brother to follow where you were going today. You were _not_ on a stroll."

"W-why?" Thinking of her brother stalking her makes her want to puke.

"Nadeshiko, do you think we weren't the least bit concerned about where you go for at least 5 hours every day?"

"What makes you think I wasn't with my school friends?"

"We called them after we got a bit wary. They told us that you're always saying that you have something else to do, or that you were busy, or that you had to go to—"

"Okay, I get it, mom." Nadeshiko rolls her eyes.

"Who's that boy you were with today? Judging from his looks, that wasn't Katsuro."

"He... he's just a boy," Nadeshiko stutters as she finally takes her boots off, hangs up her coat and scarf.

"'Just a boy'? Well, this isn't suspicious at all," Nadeshiko hears the voice that makes her want to throw up.

"Shut up, brat."

"Make me. Either way, you're screwed. You're busted, sis." He sticks out his tongue.

She gives a sigh of defeat.

"Fine. I was with my friend Hikaru, all right? I met him on the way to Katsuro's house on the first day, and I've been hanging out with him ever since. I would spend time with him even when my school friends ask if I could go hang out with them. I enjoy hanging out with him, alright? Even though you guys don't agree with me hanging out with him, I will continue to do so, and nothing will stop me, you got that?" She glares at them and prepares herself for the worst.

"Who says that we don't like you hanging out with him? We're just upset that you didn't tell us all of this, sweetie." Nadeshiko's mom and dad look at each other, and give a small nod in agreement. Nadeshiko notices all of this.

"What?" She asks.

Nadeshiko's mom replies, "If you really like this boy... then we can call the engagement with Katsuro off, okay? We just have to figure out if his family is fine with it. I want to speak with Hikaru's parents as well, so that we can introduce ourselves to them. We might as well call him too."

"Well, it'll be hard to reach Hikaru, since he's the prince of this country..."

The parents' eyes widen, and even the brother.

"You... made friends with the prince? Oh this is great!" The dad responds.

"... What do you mean?" Nadeshiko glares at him. "I have you know, I didn't know until July that he was a royal. By then, I was already hanging out with him as much as I can... after school."

"Yeah, but of course, it's always good to get good connections with the leader of the whole country."

"Dad!" Nadeshiko whips at him.

"Yeah I know it is wrong honey. I'm just saying as a joke."

"Anyways, it's time to call Katsuro's family."

"Finally!" Nadeshiko falls onto the couch, full of joy that the engagement was finally off. However, she sits back up, tense.

"Wait, but I don't even know if Hikaru likes me."

"We'll see. Either way though, we have to call the engagement off. It's not good to marry a man if you have a heart for another," the mom assures. Nadeshiko smiles, happy that her mom understands.

"So what's going on this afternoon?"

"Well, we sort of... lied. We don't have any plans this afternoon. It was mainly just to get you home and have an intervention."

Nadeshiko sweatdrops at the excuse, but then she perks back up.

"So can I go out?"

The parents eye her, as if asking "where are you planning on going?"

"I'm going to see Hikaru. I think he's still in the park."

"Sure," the dad responds, but then he unexpectedly stands up, suddenly remembering another thing he has to speak to his daughter. "Wait, there's something I forgot to mention."

"What?" Nadeshiko puts on her boot again and grabs the doorknob. "You better make it quick!"

"Your brother saw the secret Hikaru revealed to you."

Nadeshiko drops her hand from the doorknob, in utter shock, her hand to her mouth, not turning to face her parents.

"_Dang it!"_

* * *

How was it? Interesting? Boring? Review please! Visit our blog at goldenstarlight at wordpress. (homepage). Read and review our other stories as well! :D

This is _part 1_ of the mass release. More info is on our blog.

The next and final chapter of the _past_ is going to be released _**tomorrow. **_

Until then,  
- Sakura-tan


	14. XIV: Promises

**Writer and Editor: Sakura-tan**

**Disclaimer: Tachibana Higuchi to belongs it. Alice Gakuen own not do I. (Can you read backwards?) - Nadeshiko/family, Hikaru/family and Katsuro/family do belong to me, though. :)**

* * *

_Present day, Portal of Time_

"Wow, in terms of fashion, this country hasn't changed much," Mikan remarks.

"Clearly your tutor hasn't taught you history yet," Hotaru retorts.

"Hey!"

"You have to admit that it is true though, Hotaru," Ruka replies. "Their style is similar to what we wear now."

"Who cares. Let's watch the rest of this thing," Natsume sighs.

The three nod in agreement. Mikan gets prepared for what's in store for them. She however, feels that no matter how much she prepares for what's to come, she remembers what their families informed them.

"_Katsuro killed Hikaru, and Nadeshiko killed herself..."_

* * *

_XIV. Promises_

* * *

_200 years ago, December, Nadeshiko's Residence_

"_Dang it!" _

Nadeshiko remembers how she promised to not tell anyone about his Alice. That promise clearly went down the drain.

"Come here... you little... brat!" She taunts her brother, and chases him around the house.

"Nadeshiko, Isamu! Sit down, now!" The dad commands. The siblings sit down with their arms crosses around their chest, glaring at each other.

"Now Nadeshiko. We have to tell you something, but that won't happen until you calm down," the mom responds calmly.

"But—"

"No. If you don't want to keep Hikaru waiting, you have to sit and listen."

Nadeshiko takes a deep breath in and out, relaxing her tense muscles. "Okay, what?"

"I know you must be mad at your little brother for doing this, but remember, we asked him to do it." The mom continues before her son can say anything that might tick his sister off again. "But to be honest, it's really good that he told us that."

Nadeshiko raises a brow, her arms still crossed.

"Nadeshiko, how would you react if we were to tell you that you have an Alice too?"

Nadeshiko looks at her mother in shock, not understanding what she meant by that. She just sits there frozen, while her parents stare at her, not really expecting anything. Their daughter is unpredictable.

"Wait, are you saying that I have an Alice?"

The parents nod.

"We discovered that when we almost poured hot water on you when we were young. You never got burns," the mom replies.

"Basically, I have a power just like Hikaru?" (Clearly Nadeshiko disregarded what her mom said.)

The parents nod again.

"You're not joking, right?"

Nod again.

"THAT'S SO AWESOME!" Nadeshiko bursts from her seat, her eyes gleaming. "So, what do I have? Fire like him? Ice? Or am I super flexible? Or or or even super speed?" She is just bouncing up and down now, full of excitement.

"Nadeshiko," the dad starts.

"Hmm?" She says jumping up and down with happiness.

"You have nullification."

Nadeshiko stops jumping, and goes through her brain of definitions.

**Nullification: "[To] render [something to be] ineffective or useless; cancel out."**

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? THAT'S A TERRIBLE ALICE!" She screams, now bawling her eyes out.

"Nadeshiko, don't think it like that. It can be very useful if something were to happen. You can pretty much cause anything to turn to its 'un-harmful' state."

"What do you mean?"

"For example, if you were about to get shot, you can nullify the speed at which it's coming, and the bullet will just fall onto the floor. It renders the bullet useless."

"Oh, I see. Can I make Hikaru's Alice disappear from his hand?"

"Of course."

"That's awesome! I have to show this to Hikaru! I'll see you later!" Nadeshiko bolts out the door.

The parents sigh and lean back on the chair, relieved that their daughter is back to her happy self.

"Well, I guess I should call Katsuro's parents now," the mom mumbles.

"Please do so. I'll go clean the garage," the dad replies.

"And I'll go play video g—"

"You're helping me clean up the garage, son."

Isamu facepalms.

_~(^^)~_

Nadeshiko bolts down the park, running to their tree. _"I hope he's still there..."_

Nadeshiko gets to their tree, and sees that no one is here. _"What are you thinking, Nadeshiko? Of course he would've gone home by now..." _She gives herself a small laugh of stupidity. Disappointed, she is about to walk back home when...

"What are you doing here?"

Nadeshiko's face breaks into a wide smile when she hears the memorable voice down in the trees. She turns around and faces him.

"It turns out that my parents lied to me about the plans."

Hikaru raises a brow, expecting further explanation. He walks up to the tree, and puts his hand on the trunk. Nadeshiko subconsciously follows suit.

"My parents got my little brother to stalk me apparently. They were suspicious of the fact that I would disappear from my home for like 5 hours a day."

"I'm sor—"

"No, there's no need for you to say sorry. Honestly. That's not the important thing that I want to talk about though."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, my parents found out about your Alice." Hikaru looks at her with a ashamed look, feeling betrayed that his best friend exposed his secret. Nadeshiko looks back. "Don't worry, they won't tell anyone. In fact, apparently I have an Alice too!" She says loud enough that no one hears but her friend.

"Oh, that's great," Hikaru replies, joy written all over her face. "It's like we're destined to be with each other or something."

Nadeshiko buries her face in her scarf, not wanting the lad to see her reddening face. She takes her face out of the scarf to say something, but stares onto the snow-covered ground. She doesn't feel comfortable making eye contact with him at this moment.

"I'll... see you later. I just realized that I have to go visit someone," she makes an excuse. A hand pulls her back as she is just about to walk away.

"Nadeshiko, can you make a promise with me first?"

"W-what?" She stutters.

"Promise me that you won't leave me, ever."

"I-I... I promise," she whispers, her face still buried in the scarf. She can feel her face getting warmer and warmer by the second.

"Promise?" Hikaru repeats, not hearing her reply.

"I promise," she firmly says out loud. Then, she shakes her wrist away from his clutch, and then runs straight back home, not daring to look back.

"_What is this terrible feeling that I'm sensing? I feel as if... something bad is going to happen..." _She thinks. For what seemed like forever, she finally reaches sees her home. She knocks a couple times, and then turns the doorknob, bringing herself into her house.

_~(^^)~_

"Oh, I see, it's fine. No problem! Don't worry about it!" The mother of Katsuro gives a few more responses like those, along with a couple signs of agreement, and then hangs up. She sighs, and then her face contorts into a face of utter disgust and anger.

"Katsuro! Come downstairs this instant!"

"Coming!" He shouts. A few seconds later, feet are heard rushing down the steps. He runs up to his mom. "Yes?"

"So, Nadeshiko's mom just called."

"What's the matter?"

"Oh, she told me how the engagement is off."

"O-oh..." Katsuro looks at her with disappointment. "Did she say the reason why?"

"She says that she has her heart for someone else," she glares at her son.

"Who?"

"How should I know? Either way, that means that we won't get out of this stinkin' place that's called 'home'. You know son, you really blew it this time."

"S-sorry, mom..." He looks back at her, feeling guilty.

"After your dad left us, I hoped that we could find a rich family to wed you with, so that we can live in a more superior environment. We can't let other people and their so-called 'love' get in the way of this. You know what this means, son," she gives an evil smile.

The son nods in agreement, and his face contorts to the same look as his mother's.

"Kill the man," they say in unison.

_~(^^)~_

"_Ahh... this is nice!" _Nadeshiko reflects with joy. After dinner, her parents—after constant belittlement—finally let her leave the house for just an hour or so. They can tell that her daughter seems to have wandered off into her own little world, and she wants to be left alone. The parents let her go as far as the park after dinner, and she had to be back an hour exactly after she left the house.

She lies down on the grass, turning her body to the side, and using her arm as a pillow for her head.

"_I... need to confess to Hikaru the next time I see him." _She decides upon herself. _"The bad omen... maybe it's just my feelings getting the better of me..." _She sighs and closes her eyes.

**Crick Crack**

Nadeshiko snaps her eyes open, hearing the sound of branches breaking. Someone is coming her way. She sits up, and is about to hide when the figure speaks.

"Who's here?"

Nadeshiko is about to run when she hears the familiar voice, not expecting him to come at this time. She wasn't prepared!

"_No Nadeshiko, this is now. I need to confess to him."_

"Hikaru?" She asks, testing to see if her ears are fooling her. That, and to show that she _wasn't _just about to burst into a sprint.

"Nadeshiko?" Hikaru emerges from the shadows. He is carrying a small bento box. "What are you doing here?"

"W-well... I was just stargazing. Yeah! I was just stargazing!"

"At this time of the year?" He looks at her, causing her to sweat frantically. Hikaru sighs, knowing that she is lying. "You know, you stink at lying." Hikaru sits down next to her, lighting a small fire between them, keeping them warm. Skillfully, Hikaru doesn't make the fire illuminate too much of their surroundings. He doesn't want to interrupt his friend's "stargazing". As well, he didn't want to attract attention, of course.

The two sit in silence for a while, until Nadeshiko eyes at the bento in the lad's hand again.

"What's with the bento?"

"Oh, I brought snacks."

"What for?"

"Well, on some days, I just sit out here and... reflect, I guess. I can't concentrate if I start getting hungry."

"You seem to like this place a lot, even in the winter," she comments.

"Yeah, it's like my second home, to be honest," he says in a soft, gentle voice. It reminded Nadeshiko of the time when he had shown her the tree in the first place, on the first day they met. It felt so long ago. The two sit in a comfortable silence, just looking at the sky.

Nadeshiko lays her head onto Hikaru's shoulder. She feels him tense from the sudden intimacy, but then he relaxes. Nadeshiko smiles, and then they both gaze at the star-filled sky. Indeed, it is sky-filled. There were stars everywhere. They pointed and joked at the stars and the shapes they made, like little kids with clouds.

Suddenly, they fall back into another relaxing stillness. They keep their head up, and munch on the snacks that Hikaru bought. Then, unexpectedly, Nadeshiko thinks out loud.

"Day and Night, strange isn't it? The light takes over the dark, but then the dark takes over the light again..." Nadeshiko looks at Hikaru, lifting her head from his shoulders. "I mean, like, I just find it amazing how it's like dark... then bright, and all over again..." She trails off, knowing that she isn't making any sense.

However, amazingly enough, Hikaru still manages to give a reply as if he has faced a question as weird as this every day.

"No, the dark always gets conquered. Even with the dark, you have the moon and stars to keep everything bright," the young lad replies back. "You see, another reason I like this place is that all of the 'artificial lighting' is all blocked by the trees around us. What is left is just the luminous moon and stars."

Nadeshiko looks back at him, in awe at what he said. Then, she breaks from the trance, shuffling uncomfortably.

"Hikaru, can you promise me something as well?"

"What?" He gives her a teasing suspicious look.

"Stay with me, forever and always." She examines him. "Promise?" She sticks her pinky out.

Hikaru chuckles. "What are we? 6?"

"Just do it," she says irritably.

"Fine fine." He hooks his pinky with hers. "I promise."

Tears of joy stream down her cheek. She is confused to why she is expressing herself like this. This has never happened before.

"Are you okay Nadeshiko?" Hikaru says in a panicky voice. Nadeshiko nods her head.

"I-I'm fine, these are tears of joy!" She hugs Hikaru tightly. "I'll do the same. I'll stay with you, forever and always."

Hikaru gives a wide smile.

"I'm going to say something, and you better not make me repeat it, so you better listen closely," she instructs.

Hikaru nods.

"I love you Hikaru." She didn't hesitate, knowing that this is the truth.

Hikaru looks at her, astonished. Then, he composes himself.

"I love you too Nadeshiko," he says in the same manner: confident, and non-hesitant.

The two look at each other, making eye contact. As if in a trance, the two lean in, and gives a peck on each others' lips. The two give a heartfelt smile, and go back to their stargazing, head on his shoulder, his hand on hers, like they had little care in the world.

However, little did they know that there was a figure hiding behind a tree...

"Hikaru, you're going to die," Katsuro mutters in a barely audible voice.

_~(^^)~_

"Are you planning on spending Christmas Eve with Hikaru?" Nadeshiko's mom asks at the breakfast table.

"Mhmm!" She responds as she gulps down another bowl of soup. She sighs in content.

"It's good to see that you're eating more," the dad responds as he joins the table as well.

"At this rate, she's going to be a fatty," Isamu teases.

"Hey! I have you know, I was running with Hikaru yesterday, so of course I'd be hungry!"

"Yeah like what, half a mile?"

"Hey! Just because I'm a good _sprinter_, that doesn't mean I can't run half a mile!"

The parents facepalm at their children's bickering once again. As usual, it is over something idiotic.

_~(^^)~_

"Good morning Hikaru," a butler says and bows as he passes the young lad past the hallway.

"Good morning," Hikaru replies, giving a small smile.

He gets to the breakfast table, and sits down.

"Good morning Hikaru," the mom greets. "We were just talking about going on a cruise next week. This time though, we're planning on inviting your girlfriend and her family."

Hikaru shrugs. "It doesn't matter with me. I'll ask her when I see her this afternoon."

Kimi and her mom look at each other, while the dad is looking at the newspaper. However, he gives a small glance at his son after hearing what came out of his mouth.

"You're spending Christmas Eve with your girlfriend? Oooh, romantic," Kimi jokes with her little brother.

"Shut up," he replies, rolling his eyes. "We're just planning on going sledding." He glares at his family members. "No, you guys cannot come."

The mom and dad slump their shoulders, like a little child is denied a toy.

"Either way, we're going to—" Hikaru's dad stops in the middle of his sentence when he hears a loud commotion in the hallway.

The parents raise a brow at each other, expecting the other to explain what is going on.

"Don't ask me, I have no idea," the dad responds.

"Go get the door then!" The mom retorts.

"Yes yes..." He gets up, and just about when he is going to walk towards the door, the door slams open, revealing a man they have never met before.

"W-who are you?" Hikaru's dad stutters. He has short dark-brown colored hair, and dark blue eyes. He looks about Hikaru's age. He is wearing a formal robe. "Hikaru, is this another friend of yours?"

"No dad," he replies as he glares at the intruder.

"Yeah, I'm not his friend. Quite the contrary, to be more exact," the male replies venomously. He raises his hand, a really dark purple ball emerging from it.

"W-W-Who are you?" Kimi stands up, slowly stepping back.

"Your worst enemy. I'm here to kill you," he glances at one teen specifically, "Hikaru."

_~(^^)~_

"I'm better than you at that game! Just because you beat my high score _once_ doesn't mean that you're superior!"

"I beat your score more than once, birdbrain! "

"Why you little punk!"

The parents sweatdrop at their still arguing kids.

"You can't catch me, stupid so-called sprinter!"

"Why you litt—" Nadeshiko freezes in the middle of her sentence, suddenly feeling a really bad omen that cannot be ignored.

The parents and Isamu look at her, wondering why she suddenly went quiet.

"Na... de... shiko?" The mom looks at her, putting down her fork. She looks at her with concern. They notice her face contort into shock, emptiness, and fear. She slowly steps back, her hand going towards her mouth. She suddenly gives a painful scream.

"HIKARUUUUU!"

"Nadeshiko! Nadeshiko!" The mom runs up to her, trying to shake her daughter out of her trance. "What's wrong?"

"Hikaru... Hikaru, Hikaru and his family... are... in danger...!" Nadeshiko shakes her mom's arms off her shoulders, and she bolts outside, not bothering to put on shoes, a jacket or anything to keep her from the cold temperature. The mom looks at the two gentlemen who are at the table, in shock.

"What just happened?" Isamu mutters a word of concern and worry about her sister towards his parents.

The dad stands up.

"It doesn't matter. Did you hear her? She said that Hikaru and his family are in grave danger. We have to go, now. Grab a coat and boots for Nadeshiko. Get dressed. We're going to Hikaru's house."

_~(^^)~_

"_Hikaru! Hikaru!" _Nadeshiko screams in her mind as she is racing towards his house. Thankfully, his house is just beyond the park where their private tree is located. She can run there blindfolded and backwards.

Once she gets to his house, she notices that their front door has been burst open, making her run even faster. She sprints into the house and veers to the right, somehow knowing exactly where her boyfriend is. She follows the shrieks that she is hearing and then stops at the door, panting.

She quickly glances at the surroundings. The beautiful glass table she was fortunate to eat at several times is now shattered on the ground. The plants around the room are toppled over, and the walls have burn marks, scratches, and others on it.

"Oh look, the rich girl is here," a too-familiar voice startles Nadeshiko, causing her to snap her head to the perpetrator.

"Ka-Katsuro?" She falters. She looks at him, and then notices that Hikaru's throat is caught in the intruder's hand cutting Hikaru off his air supply. He is furiously clawing at the hand, trying to break free.

"Hikaru!" She glares at Katsuro. "Let him go, now," she growls menacingly.

"Oh this boy? You know, I'll let him go... if you promise to be my fiancée," he says triumphantly.

"Are you kidding me?" Nadeshiko says with hard sarcasm. "There's no way I'm going to be your wife. Also, this 'boy' is the same age as us! Stop saying it as if he's a little baby!"

"Oh, I see. It's because _this boy_ is your boyfriend I presume? This is the _boy_ that 'captured your heart'?" Katsuro sneers, tightening his hold Hikaru's throat.

"Let him go!" Nadeshiko is just about to lurch forward to save Hikaru, but a loud shriek from Katsuro stops her.

She notices that Hikaru has just used his Alice, scorching his hand and therefore, releasing Katsuto's hold on his throat. Then he falls onto the ground, breathing heavily to get some air into his lungs. Nadeshiko runs towards him.

"Are you okay?" She shouts at him, kneeling so that they're both at eye-level.

"Yeah... I'm fine," Hikaru's breathing eventually calms, and then he stands up, looking at his girlfriend in the eye. "You have to watch out, he has an Alice."

Nadeshiko suddenly feels as if a 20 pound weight has just fallen upon her.

"An Alice... like us?"

"Yeah, and it's not pretty," he replies, almost jokingly. Nadeshiko gives a small smile to him. Just about she is going to kiss him again, she freezes and her face twists into fear again.

"No! Don't you dare!" She shouts, and she runs to the other side of the room, blocking Katsuro's Alice from Hikaru's family members, who are still huddled together. Everyone in the room gasps when they see that Katsuro's Alice is absorbed into the shield Nadeshiko subconsciously activated.

"Hmm, it seems that you have an Alice too, rich girl. However, that doesn't mean you can use it effectively!" Katsuro lights black glowing balls on his hand, and shoots it towards Nadeshiko. He merely just wants her to grow faint, and that's when he will have the opening to kill Hikaru.

"Why are you doing this, Katsuro? What has Hikaru done to you?" Nadeshiko keeps her forearms in front of her face, keeping her shield up. Her feet are in a karate stance.

"What has he done? You're asking what he has done? He's stolen your heart! The heart that is supposed to belong to me!"

"What do you mean? I gave it to him, and he gave me his. We love each other! Why are you trying to ruin it?" Nadeshiko cries.

"Because... because..." He stutters, and his shooting momentarily freezes, remembering evil thoughts that fuel his anger.

"_You must get a rich wife."_

"_The word 'love' is not in your dictionary."_

"_Kill whoever gets in your way."_

"_It doesn't matter! Get a woman that will benefit the whole family, not the one you simply love!"_

"BECAUSE YOU ARE MINE! IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU, NO ONE CAN!" Katsuro snaps. Then, as fast as a bullet, he puts all of his power into one shot, and aims it at Nadeshiko, who is completely unprepared. She subconsciously puts the barrier up, and attempts to nullify it. It works for a while but then the powerful pitch black shot breaks through her shield, shocking Nadeshiko and everyone else. She just braces for the impact, knowing that there is no way that she can survive this.

"_I'm sorry Hikaru," _she thinks. _"I'm sorry for being such a hindrance for you and your family's life." _Nadeshiko feels herself being pushed into a wall, which she assumes is the force of the blast. She waits for the pain, but none comes. She suddenly hears screams and shrieks all over the room.

"Hikaru!" She hears one person shout.

"Oh my gosh, what just happened?"

"Hikaru, don't you DARE die on me!"

The last phrase causes Nadeshiko to snap her eyes open, and her face turns into overwhelming grief, anger, and sadness.

"HIKARU!" She shouts.

Hikaru lies where she stood, in a growing pool of blood. Nadeshiko realizes that he pushed her away and took the bullet upon himself, knowing that it would cost his life. Nadeshiko limps to him, and sits down, slowly lifting his body onto her lap, not caring that his blood is searing into her clothes. She hears a couple people run out the door, screaming for a doctor. Nadeshiko knows however, that not even a doctor can heal him in time. Feeling as if it's just the two of them, she lets her pain show. Tears stream down her cheeks, dripping down her chin and onto her blood-soaked boyfriend. She completely disregards the fact that the intruder is still in the room.

"Na... de... shi... ko," she hears in a very painful, barely audible voice. Even in the loud room, she can hear her boyfriend speak, loud and clear.

"H-Hikaru?" She opens her eyes, grabbing onto his hand and puts it to her cheek. She tries to look into his eyes through her tears. She knows that saying comforting words to him like "you'll be alright" and "the doctors will heal you" are completely useless. Hikaru isn't stupid. He _is_ in one case though.

"W- Why d-did you-u t-take th-the blas-st, s-stupid!" She cries through her sobs. _"A miracle, I need a miracle!"_

Hikaru doesn't answer, but he attempts to give a confident, soft smile, but failing. Instead, he gives a painful one.

"Remember when we first met?" He changes the subject, using all of his strength to whisper that in a flowing sentence. Nadeshiko notices his breathing become slow and raggedy.

"Pfft, yeah, how can I forget?" She laughed as tears streamed down her face, trying to comfort her boyfriend's last moments on earth.

"Na... de... shi... ko," every syllable becoming more and more painful to utter. "U... nite... powers..."

She looks at him with confusion, not understanding what he meant. "Unite powers?"

Hikaru attempts to use his arm that is still clutched in his girlfriend's hand, but fails. Nadeshiko senses this, and puts her hand to his. She wills her power to where their two palms meet, tears still flowing down her face. She leans down and kisses him on the lips, and then a powerful glow appears between the two joint palms. She feels energy rapidly draining from her, almost causing her to collapse onto the body on her lap. Suddenly, she feels words flood her mind, determination searing through her body. The glow disappears, and she looks at the intruder again, remembering that he was there. She doesn't move her hand from her position: holding Hikaru's.

"We will kill you, Katsuro," she says menacingly.

"W-we?" he stutters, not prepared for her sudden change in expression and voice. "Y-your boyfriend is dead," he attempts to say confidently.

"People in the future will kill you. Hikaru and I will seal you away!" She screams, and then all of a sudden, a powerful veil of fire surrounds Katsuro, and forms above him. He attempts to free himself, but a shield-like barrier prevents him from doing so.

Katsuro uses his Alice in hopes to break the barrier, but it deflects off and hits him. Howling in pain, he looks back at his former-fiancée.

"I will gladly kill them then!" He accepts the offer.

She is about to retort back, but a small movement in Hikaru's hand snaps her eyes back to him.

"Hikaru?" She asks a little too innocently.

Hikaru's parents and sister, who were beside their son's side the whole time, put their hand to their mouth. Tears brim on their traumatized and fearful eyes.

"Hikaru, wake up," Nadeshiko says in denial. She looks at the lad who has his eyes closed, with a gentle, calming, peaceful smile on his face—the smile that he wanted to show to her before. The pale skin, and the coolness of his body...

Then, it finally hits her. Hard.

"No... way... this can't be happening... NO!" She hollers, shaking the limp body in her lap, tears pouring out of her eyes. She didn't even know that a human being can displace this much water... until now. "Hikaru, remember the promise we made? You said that you would stay with me forever!" She lashes out.

"Haha, this is what you get," Katsuro sneers in the fire-covered dome. Nadeshiko however, looks at him, with the evilest eyes anyone has ever seen.

"I will get rid of you, I promise!" She shouts, not noticing her parents and brother run into the room. "I will kill you for what you have done to Hikaru!" The tear-stricken face makes her look more furious than she already is.

Then, the dome surrounding Katsuro gets smaller and smaller, trapping him inside. Then, it disappears along with Katsuro, sealing him in it. Nadeshiko couldn't care less about him anymore. She knows however, that he won't stay sealed forever. She looks back to the motionless body lying on her lap. Another wave of tears stream down her face.

"_Hikaru! How am I supposed to live without you? I made a promise as well..."_ She thinks as she mourns, hugging the corpse.

Then on the ground, she notices a large piece of sharp glass and she quickly grabs a tight hold of it. She notices some blood dripping down her arm, which must've been from the glass she is grabbing onto so firmly. She looks at Hikaru, giving a small smile.

Then, it is as if everything went in slow motion. Nadeshiko's family, realizing what she is about to do, runs as fast as they can, hoping to grab onto the sharp blade. Although Hikaru's immediate family members are next to her, their mourning for their son/little brother causes them to delay their reflexes. They all try to get a hold of the piece of glass in Nadeshiko's hand...

... but it was too late.

Nadeshiko plunges the sharp blade into her chest, where her heart lies. She dies instantly. Her body slumps onto her boyfriend's, where she gave the same smile that Hikaru did—a gentle, calm and peaceful one. She wanted to show her loved ones that she's in a better place now.

Now the whole room is now in chaos, but the two dead lovers don't notice.

"_See Hikaru, I didn't break my promise. I'll be with you now, forever and always."_

* * *

This is _part 2_ of the mass release, and the end of "the past" chapters. Chapter 15 will be released tomorrow. Reviews would be appreciated greatly.

- Sakura-tan


	15. XV: The Response

**Writer and Editor: Sakura-tan**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice.**

* * *

_XV. The Response_

* * *

_Present Day, Portal of Time_

Mikan cries furiously on her boyfriend's shoulder, grabbing hold of his clothing, while Natsume hugs her, petting her hair. He knows that she desperately needs some affection right now, not cheering up, so he just lets his girlfriend's tears fall.

Clearly both Ruka and Hotaru need some warmth as well. They are hugging each other, their eyes watering as if they will just burst if either of them is to speak.

After a few more minutes, Mikan wipes her tears, thinking that she has cried enough.

"W-we have to avenge their death," she speaks, still hiccupping a bit from her crying. "I will not forgive Katsuro!" She hollers.

Natsume adds, "It's clear now that we have to kill him, or he's going to kill us."

The three nod in agreement, showing determination, leaving their emotions aside.

"By the way, I don't really get what happened at the end..." Mikan sweatdrops.

"Now that you mention it, it's a bit confusing..." Ruka adds. Hotaru doesn't say anything, but her friends can tell that she doesn't fully understand what happened there too. Natsume gives a sigh, clearly being the only one who has figured out it.

"Did you guys see what happened when they joined their hands?" He asks monotonously.

"Well, Nadeshiko started sputtering things, as if they were going to come true..." Ruka says, trailing off at the end.

"What else?"

"And then a dome of fire came on Katsuro," Mikan adds.

"What are some other qualities about the dome?"

"It kept Katsuro encased in, deflecting any magic power that he used," Hotaru replies.

"So how do you think the dome was made?"

Mikan put the pieces together. _"Dome of fire... like Hikaru, and nullify power like Nadeshiko..." _

"The dome was made from their Alices," Mikan concludes. Natsume nods to show that she's right. However, there is still something that wasn't answered.

"Then what was with Nadeshiko and her saying all those words?" She asks.

Natsume sighs again.

"They created a new Alice with their combined powers," he tells them.

"What Alice? How do you know?" Ruka asks.

"The Alice of Prophecy." The three friends look at him with astonishment.

"Of course, why didn't I think about that? It's seems too obvious when you say it," Ruka thinks out loud.

Mikan looks at them bewildered, not understanding.

"Wha?"

"Mikan. You're an idiot." Hotaru sighs.

"I think you and Natsume already established that..." Mikan mutters in annoyance, puffing her cheeks.

"We're _part_ of a prophecy, if you haven't realized," Natsume said. "When you think of Nadeshiko's certainty and the fashion that our parents told us about this whole situation, it becomes quite clear."

Mikan nods slowly, and sits onto the "floor," still feeling overwhelmed by this whole situation.

Then, the portal starts shaking again.

"What's going on? I thought we were done!" Ruka says shouts.

"Clearly we aren't," Natsume replies.

The shaking stops, leaving the four friends wonder what else there is to watch. They look at back at the screen. They realize that there wasn't a time skip. The teens look at each other, confused more than ever.

"What's going o—" Mikan stops in the middle of her sentence when a voice illuminates the portal.

"_Please, go outside! Sakura trees, an arc underneath, a pathway appears, secret of four. Where paper reveals troubles, and joint hands show."_

The four friends know that that is no doubt Nadeshiko's voice. Isn't she dead though? Why is she speaking to them?

"I guess we should leave the portal?" Ruka says in an unsure voice.

Natsume nods in agreement. They see a door, and Mikan presses the gold-embodied button on the left, similar to where they saw Misaki's mom insert the key. The door opens, and the friends can't help but be relieved that they're back into the present. Ruka looks at the clock above the door across from them, realizing that only about an hour has passed.

"Should we eat lunch first, or...?" Ruka trails off.

"Let's just do what she said, and we'll get some lunch," Natsume replies.

"I can barely remember what she even said, let alone understand it..." Mikan mumbles in irritation.

"That's why you write it down," Hotaru advises, showing them her fast-writing pencil. Mikan and Ruka sweatdrop.

"Can you repeat what she said, Imai? I just want to make sure if my suspicion is correct," Natsume asks bluntly.

"Yeah." She takes out the paper she wrote it on. "Sakura trees, an arc underneath, a pathway appears, secret of four. Where paper reveals troubles, the joint hands show."

"That's what I thought." Natsume walks away from the group, expecting the others to follow him. He turns around. "Are you guys going to stand there or what?"

"Wait, what are we doing?" Mikan questions.

"Going where the riddle wants us to go, obviously," Natsume replies.

The three friends look at each other, and shrug their shoulders. They catch up to Natsume.

"So where are we going?" Mikan asks as she runs up to him, and walk in his pace.

"Two sakura trees that creates an arc. They want us to walk this pathway that should appear only to the four of us. We have to hold hands and a paper that tells us what to do next will appear."

Mikan blushes a bit when she hears "hold hands." They've done it before though, so she doesn't understand why she is feeling like that. She just gives a nod.

The friends are silent the rest of the way, letting Natsume lead them. Finally, he stops in front of the Sakura trees that create an arc. The friends look at each other, seeing if they're on the same page, and walk in between the two trees. A pathway appears in front of them, like what Nadeshiko said. It is a nicely stone-made pathway, gleaming white.

The four walk on the clean path. Natsume and Mikan hook their fingers to each other's, and continue. They eventually meet a dead end and so they wait. Then, two gravestones materializes, making the friends feel uncomfortable. They're Hikaru's and Nadeshiko's grave. It's beautifully crafted; the most elegant gravestones any of them has ever seen.

"_Thank you for hearing our plea," _the voice of what seems to be Nadeshiko is heard. Then, the gravestones disappear.

"What was the point of the gravestones?" Hotaru says irritably.

"It was probably just to signify that it was the spirit of Nadeshiko talking. Having Hikaru's grave beside her just shows that they are together now, forever and always..." Ruka whispers the last few words.

"Makes sense," Mikan shrugs.

Not long afterwards, they notice an envelope on the ground in front of them. Mikan picks it up, not letting go of her boyfriend's hand, and looks at it. It looks like an envelope of a high class family, which is to be expected. They look at the sticker that sealed the envelope closed, and notice that it's shaped like a star. The top half is orange, while the bottom half is white. In the center of the star, is a golden circle. Simple, but it means so much.

Natsume releases his grip on his girlfriend's hand, and ushers her to open it. She does so, and she takes the paper out of its envelope. Mikan reads what it says out loud:

"_Once upon a time  
Two people met  
Never knew all will change,  
They thought fate was set._

_One with the fire  
The other the shield,  
The man with the dark  
The evil he wield._

_Two lovers to meet, and  
The man approached,  
Killed the fire,  
And let the girl mourn._

_The families cry,  
The kingdom has fell,  
One child remains,  
The world they to dwell._

_On paper they put,  
Seize that man and kill.  
Happy ending to come,  
Locking lips it will._

_All will be done,  
The prophecy no more.  
Lovers be put to rest  
And happiness evermore._"

Just as Mikan is going to ask about the inscription, a glowing light appears on the four's necklaces, stunning them.

"_Thank you, Natsume and Mikan. May these extra powers aid you in your journey? Tread this path alone with six others the Alices are given," _they hear the spirit of Hikaru say.

The four friends wait for further instructions, but nothing appears.

"W-what was that?" Mikan asks. "And the poem, and the light..." Her eyes show complete confusion, lines swirling on them.

"Whoa!" Ruka shouts. "Our necklaces... it changed color!"

The other three friends look at Ruka's, and notices that it changes to a bright light-blue color. Then, at Hotaru's, which has turned into a darker and bolder shade of purple.

At Mikan's and Natsume's necklaces is when they gasp.

Natsume's necklace has a crimson red and sky blue swirl, while Mikan's has a solid orange and bright yellow swirl. In the middle of the pendant, a small golden circle lies.

"What's going on?" Mikan says irritably. "I'm so confuuuused!"

"Mikan, calm down. Think. What does it mean when your necklace changes color?" Hotaru asks.

"It means that that our Alice has been awakened," Mikan says in an obvious tone. "But why does—"

"We got another Alice, smart one," Natsume says with irritation. "Clearly you didn't hear what Hikaru said. He gave us extra Alices."

"The only question is though, I don't understand why he said that six more people got Alices. Isn't it just the four of us?"

"The better question is, who got the Alices?" Natsume asks, correcting Ruka's question. He starts walking back, and the other three friends follow. Mikan catches up to her boyfriend, leaving Hotaru and Ruka right behind them.

"Since he said six _other _Alices, that means that apart from Natsume and I, six other people got one..."

"And Ruka and Hotaru are two of them. There's four more left," Natsume adds.

"I don't think they're any of the royals," Ruka comments. "I didn't see any necklaces on them..."

"Then who would Nadeshiko and Hikaru give them to?"

The friends think, and then all of a sudden, Mikan freaks out.

"_Maybe the royals had another device, like how we had necklaces..." _Natsume ponders.

"Natsume! That's so smart!" Mikan shouts. The three friends stare at her in shock.

"What did he say? I didn't hear anything..." Ruka questions.

"Mikan, I didn't say anything, idiot."

"Yeah you did, you said that the others may have a different device, and their Alices may be transferred there," Mikan replies innocently.

"I _thought_ that, I didn't say it..." Natsume looks glares at her. Then, he tests something out. "Mikan, repeat what I'm thinking."

"WHAT? I can't do that!" Mikan hollers, but does what he says. "Mikan... is... an... idiot—HEY!" Mikan puffs her cheeks, hands folded into fists. _"I can't believe he would say something like this at a time like this!"_

"Why not?" Natsume raises a brow. "You _are _an idiot, after all."

Mikan raises a brow. "I didn't say anything!" She cries. Natsume's eyes widen.

"Wait, it's as if you're reading each other's minds..." Ruka remarks, giving a small chuckle.

Natsume nods. "They also gave Mikan and me telepathy, it seems. We can't read your minds though, so I think it's for just the two of us."

"But anyways, another question," Mikan raises her hand like a child in class. "I don't get the poem!"

"_Mikan, you're a certified moron!"_ Natsume purposely shouts in his mind.

A vein pops on her head. "That's good to know I'm _certified _on something, UNLIKE YOU!" Mikan sticks her tongue out.

Hotaru and Ruka give a small sweatdrop, looking at the arguing pair walking in front of them.

"Anyways," Ruka tries to steer towards the question, "about the poem. It was pretty much summing up what happened to the two."

Hotaru nods. "They also told us that in order to break the curse, you have to kill the bad guy. The last part I don't understand though, about the kiss..."

Mikan stares back at her friend. "KISS?" She hollers really loud.

Hotaru takes out her baka gun and hits her with the blunt weapon itself.

"You're an idiot. That's not the point right now," Hotaru says irritably.

"Well, when you look at the last paragraph of the poem, it's saying that they'll happily sleep. Maybe breaking the prophecy officially is a kiss? After all, this whole situation has been going on for a couple centuries already..."

The friends nod in understanding.

"Okay, so we'll do that after we kill Katsuro!" Mikan shouts with determination. "This has gone on for too long. We need to bring some justice in here."

"Wow, I'm surprised Mikan, I thought you would want to stay out of all of this," Ruka comments.

"Well, we're already sucked into it, so I might as well find the best way out. Crying and sulking over this isn't going to help, right?" Mikan gives a wide smile.

Before they know it, they are finally out of the forest. The path disappears, and it's as if nothing happened. They are about to walk back to the house until Misaki and Tsubasa run to them.

"Mikannnn!" Misaki shouts as they run up to her and the company. She eyes at their necklaces. "Ha! I knew something changed!" She hollers in excitement as Tsubasa catches up to her.

"What do you mean?" Mikan asks.

"Look at our rings too!" Misaki reaches her hand out. The four friends look at Natsume, whose claim is right once again.

The look at their rings, and they realize that Misaki's is a deep maroon color, and Tsubasa's is a dark blue.

"That makes four," Mikan comments.

"What do you mean?" Misaki asks, raising a brow. "Also, why were you guys in the forest?"

"Since we found that you two have an Alice, there's two more people left," Ruka comments, nicely dodging the second question the senpais asked.

"'Alice?' Is that the power that Natsume and Mikan has?" Misaki asks.

The four kouhais nod.

Tsubasa perks up. "Oh, Natsume, Aoi called."

"Aoi?" Natsume asks. _"Why would she call at a time like this?"_

"Yeah. We told her that you were busy so she told you to call her back."

"Firstly though, do you want to go have some food? You guys may not be hungry since you had a late breakfast though..."

"Nope! We're starving actually," Mikan jokes, and they follow the senpais into Misaki's house for lunch.

_~(^^)~_

After dinner, the three friends let Natsume go off on his own to call Aoi. He uses the home phone, and dials the number. He holds the phone to his ear, and hears the dial tone a couple times, before he hears his sister pick up.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey, it's Natsume. You called?"

"_Oh Natsume! How's everything going?"_

"Good, I guess. What do you want?"

"_Well, it's kind of... random, I guess, but Youichi and I, we got powers."_

This shocks Natsume, and relieves him at the same time.

"_Natsume? Are you still there?"_

"Yeah. What did you guys get?"

"_Well, we don't really know yet, but our rings changed color."_

"What colors?"

"_Well, mine turned into this __cream__ color, while Youichi's turned into a dark grey one. Why?"_

"Long story. Tsubasa and Misaki got Alices too."

"_Alices?"_

"That's what the 'power' is called. Ruka and Hotaru got some too."

"_That's great! It seems like something good has happened, which probably means that we're one step farther to solving the whole problem, right?"_

"Probably."

"_Anyways, it's glad to hear that you're the same old Natsume. I'll pass on to the others that you say 'hi'. Alright?"_

"Go ahead."

"_See you soon! Bye!"_

"Bye."

He drops the phone onto the receiver and walks back to the gang of friends.

"_So, what happened Natsume?" _She asks the said person, taking advantage of their telepathy.

"_Aoi and Youichi got Alices as well," _he replies in the same way.

"That's awesome!" Mikan shouts out loud, stunning the other four friends.

"Are you okay?" Misaki asks. Ruka and Hotaru tell them how they have telepathy, so they were probably just using it. "Whoa, that's awesome guys! You two have double Alices _and _telepathy? That's too cool!"

"Not necessarily if you know the background of the prophecy," Mikan replies with sadness clearly evident in her voice.

"Should we ask?" Tsubasa asks in a solemn and mature voice.

"We'd rather you not," Ruka replies, looking to the ground.

"Let's just say that you two, and Aoi and Youichi got your Alices for a reason," Mikan says with tease.

The friends other than Natsume look at her with surprise, happy to hear the news that Aoi and Youichi were the two people left who claimed the Alices.

"So, let's find out what Alices we have," Ruka adds.

"How do we find out..." Hotaru asks bluntly.

"Simple. We test out everything at Mikan," Natsume remarks as he smirks at her. "After all, you _do _have _nullification_. It'll help you get better at using it anyways with all of this."

"Eh?" Mikan stumbles.

Ruka laughs. "Well, let's follow what Natsume says. He's the expert here!"

"Hey! Just because he's the expert, doesn't mean that _I'm _the target!"

"You are now," Natsume says monotonously and starts a fire on the palm of his hand.

"Nooooooo!" Mikan yells as she runs away from the group, causing the other friends to giggle at their quarreling.

* * *

Find out next chapter what their Alices are! I want at least three reviews before I update (yes this is the end of the mass release)! :) Read and review our other stories as well, and visit our blog (homepage; profile).

- Sakura-tan


	16. XVI: Training

Sorry for the SUPER late update, readers! :( However, that shouldn't matter anymore, since chapter 16 is finally here! -facepalm- Also, thanks for the epic reviews. -hugs you all- Without further ado, here it is! Read and enjoy. :)

- Sakura-tan

**Writer and Editor: Sakura-tan**

**Disclaimer: I'm out of ideas.**

* * *

_XVI. Training_

* * *

"_I'm gonna kill you Natsumeeee!" _Mikan thinks as she lies in the shade, tired from the sort of 'training' they received. It didn't go unsuccessful though. After learning from Natsume, most of them discovered their Alice and honed (and still honing) their skills greatly.

Ruka has the Alice "Animal Pheromone." He can control animals. This probably explains why he is able to attract the animals in the past, like a rabbit. Natsume commented that he's not that bad, but there's always a need for improvement, of course. (Like not running himself [Ruka] over with his own animals.)

Hotaru has the "invention" Alice, which is pretty straightforward. This was also clearly shown in the past, like the baka-gun, and the deer hoof (both for the purpose of hitting Mikan). Natsume told her that she has to realize that she can only bring so many inventions, so she shouldn't make inventions too abstract. Hotaru replied saying she'll make an invention to carry everything. Natsume said no.

Misaki has the "doppelganger" Alice. Self-explanatory, she can duplicate herself for an extended period of time. The time span that the duplications last for depends on her skill at controlling her Alice, therefore, Natsume always pushes her to the limit when she is training. Every time, she has the big urge to kill him with it. That may not go so well though...

Her best friend Tsubasa, has the "shadow manipulation" Alice. This is also pretty self-explanatory. He can step on people's shadows, and manipulate them however he wants to, whether by writing something on the shadow itself, or physically manipulating them (eg. tripping the shadow which in turn trips the person). Natsume learned that he needs a lot of work on his Alice, as he trips himself before he does anything to the shadow he has in custody.

All of the training was used on Mikan, who was pushed farther than her limit. She was flown into the air for a total of 17 times, hit in the face 12 times, and trampled on 9 times. Natsume commented that her nullification skills sucked. To improve that, he made the others speed up their attacks on her, causing her to almost strangle her boyfriend.

"Mikaaaaaan!" Misaki's voice called. "It's your and Natsume's turn now!"

Mikan gets up, wiping dirt off of her skirt. "Haaaai!" She calls back. _"Finally, I'm not the punching bag," _she chants in her head. She walks toward here her boyfriend is standing, and glances at where she is going to aim: a target that has been perfectly laid on a large tree. Her jaw drops, and she turns to Natsume.

"WHY WAS I THE PUNCHING BAG IF THEY WERE PLANNING ON PUTTING THAT UP?" She cries.

"Because it's killing two birds with one stone."

"Hmph." She whips her head to the opposite side where Natsume is standing, and crosses her arms.

"Mikan, don't keep us waiting," Hotaru says irritatingly.

"What am I supposed to do?" Mikan asks with a sweatdrop.

"Clearly you weren't listening," Natsume says with the same amount irritation as Hotaru.

"Then tell me now," she retorts.

"'Will' your second Alice to hit that target," Ruka answers.

"Oh, that's easy!" She says a little too calmly. She lifts her arm out, and wills her Alice to strike the target.

Nothing happens.

She does the same action, and the same result appears. The friends look at her, where one is facepalming, another couple of them have their eyes twitching in irritation, and another couple are sweatdropping.

"I-It's not as easy as it looks!" She stutters. She tries again, but nothing changes.

"Well then, why don't we let Natsume try? Maybe if he gets it, he can help you," Ruka comments. Mikan looks at Natsume, expecting him to agree with Ruka. Natsume sighs, and then turns back to the target.

He puts his arm up, like Mikan, and closes his eyes, his palm out. After a small moment, quick sharp blue fragments hit the target, right in the center. The five friends look at him in awe. Natsume opens his eyes and looks at the result, walking up to the target. Ruka catches up to him, and they bend on the ground.

"It looks like ice," Ruka comments while his friend picks up a piece. He does so as well, and his suspicions are correct. It's cold, and melting into water.

The two get up and tell the others about his Alice.

"Wow! So you're fire _and _ice! You're pretty much invincible now," Misaki observes.

"Hn." Natsume looks at his girlfriend, who looks back. "Go." He points to the target, indicting her to use her second Alice.

"But... it doesn't work!" Mikan replies, feeling discouraged that Natsume can do it so easily.

"Mikan," he starts as he walks up to her. "If you're trying to compare yourself to me, you're going to be sadly mistaken. You're an idiot, a moron and—"

"That makes me feel a lot better," Mikan says sarcastically.

"—I had much more practice and training than you. You're right, it's hard, to be honest. That's why it took a while for me to use mine," Natsume comments as he looks at the target in the distance. He turns to make eye contact with Mikan. "Do you want to hit the target?"

Mikan nods in reply.

"You will _never _emit your second Alice unless you want it to come. You have to have the mindset to _want_ and _will _your Alice to come."

Mikan looks at him with a determined and motivated look. "I want to see my second Alice."

"Mikan face the target."

Mikan does what she is told.

"Raise your arm."

She raises her arm with strength, her arm straight like a ruler, her palm facing the target in the distance.

"Close your eyes,"

She does what he says.

"and imagine the target, imagine your Alice, and hit it!"

She imagines it all, and then as quick as a snap, her eyes shoot open, and a bright yellow beam spurts out of her hand, hitting the left side of the target. She doesn't care though, she willed it to come, and that's all she cares about.

"I did it!" She squeals. "My second Alice came out!" She jumps up and down. "Thank you Natsume~!" She hugs the said person, causing him to blush a bit, but the friends are celebrating too much to notice.

"That's great, Mikan!" Tsubasa cheers.

"Finally! I was getting worried a bit there," Misaki gives a sigh of relief.

"So what is her second Alice?" Ruka asks. The friends stop celebrating, and look at Natsume once again. However, this time, he looks at Imai, expecting her to know.

"Mikan has the Alice of Light," she says.

"Wow, that's interesting," Ruka says as his hand goes to his chin. "Katsuro has dark, and Mikan has light. Is this a mere coincidence?"

"Hold on a sec, how do we know that Katsuro has the Alice of dark?"

The three friends look at Mikan, one surprised, and the others tempted to punch her. They manage to keep their composure though.

"Mikan, take out the letter they gave us. It says that he has the Alice of dark... **explicitly**," Hotaru retorts with annoyance. Mikan does what she says, and takes the paper out of its case. She quickly skims through it, looking for the word 'dark'.

"One with the fire the other the shield, _the man with the dark, the evil he wield,_" Mikan reads out loud. "Oh," she puts the paper back in its casing and puts it in her pocket. "I knew that!"

The friends facepalm.

"So what are we going to do now?"

"You and I," Natsume looks at her, "we're going to train on the target. The rest of you," he then looks at the others, "are going to use the punching bags around this vicinity. They're made courtesy of Imai."

"Wait, I don't see any of them," Tsubasa comments as he looks to the wide field.

"That's the point. It increases your endurance. Run and find them. They're invisible, but there's something visible on the punching bag, so you should be able to find them all within a minute."

"_That's easy for you to say!" _All of the friends think simultaneously.

_~(^^)~_

"The training was brutal!" Mikan shouts at the dinner table. "Natsume is a maniac!"

The parents laugh at her response.

After training for the rest of the day, all of them were dead-tired, except for Natsume. Misaki and Tsubasa decided to go over to Tsubasa's kingdom for dinner, so it is now just the four close friends and Misaki's parents.

"Natsume has done training like this on a daily basis when he was younger, so I guess it is excepted of him to not break a sweat," Misaki's mom remarks.

"Wait, you knew? About his training and stuff?" Mikan says in astonishment as she passes the basket of bread.

"Well of course, I think the parents of all the royal families know..." They hear a growl beside Natsume.

"I'm going to kill those idiots..." he taunts, scaring the others at the table.

"Wait, your mom told them without your consent?" Ruka asks, a little surprised.

"They always do this," Natsume says, his voice sprinkled with a hit of... evil? The friends sweatdrop.

"Well, they probably did that because they care about you," Misaki's dad comments, hoping to lighten his mood.

"No, they're evil human beings..."

Mikan sweatdrops again. _"You're the evil one here!" _She shouts in her mind.

"I heard that, stupid."

"Well... you are!" She retorts.

"At least I can actually hit a target."

"Hey! Well, my Alice is stronger than yours!"

"How so?"

"It... it... it can burn people's eyes because it's so bright!" The others at the table sweatdrop at her answer.

"My fire can do it."

"My light can... uhh..." Mikan can't conjure up any advantages.

"Well, it glows much more luminously than Natsume's fire," Ruka tries to reassure Mikan.

"Yeah, that!" Mikan points to Ruka. "See Natsume, my second Alice is so much better than both of yours!"

"... I'll let you think that," Natsume replies in an uncaring manner. He whispers to Imai, who is sitting beside him. She leans in as well. "She's crazy."

Hotaru whispers back. "Well, that explains so much."

"HEY! I HEARD THAT, BOTH OF YOU!" Mikan is grinding her teeth, her face red with rage.

"Now now, guys, calm down..." A sound of broken glass is heard. "... please." Ruka looks at the parents. "Sorry about that."

"For the arguing or the broken plate?"

"... Both."

"No problem with the plate, we can get some more. The arguing however... we'll survive," the dad jokes.

Ruka gives a small laugh and sweatdrop, and they continue eating their dinner, the fighting trio yelling in the background.

_~(^^)~_

"Oh, okay," a monotone masculine voice says into his cellphone. "Yeah."

It is now late night/early morning, and everyone is asleep... well except for this one boy talking on the phone.

"_That's good to hear. I'm happy to hear about their Alices. You don't have to worry about being looked at as 'weird' anymore!"_

"Tch," Natsume replies back to his sister. "What did you and Youichi find out then?"

"_That I have wind, and he has spirit control."_

"How did you guys discover that?"

"_Well, uhh... long story short, Youichi has a bruised butt, and the maids are scared entering our bedrooms now." _Natsume can't help but facepalm at his sister's reply. He remembers their training as well, and oh boy how well did _that_ go.

"I'll be sure to notify the other five."

"_That's great! Give my regards to them, okay?"_

"Hn."

"_I'll talk to you later then. Everyone went to sleep a long time ago."_

"Same here."

"_Bye!"_

"Good night." With that, Natsume closes his phone shut, and lies on his bed, his arm over his forehead as he ponders on their whole situation. The pictures of Nadeshiko's and Hikaru's bloodied bodies seem to be inerasable from his mind. Then his mind snaps to his smiling friends during their training, and then more specifically, at Mikan's joyful face when she was celebrating with them. His stomach churns, and his heart aches as both of his arms lie over his face.

"_I have a feeling... something bad is going to happen," _he senses, and then closes his eyes, into a dreamful slumber.

_~(^^)~_

The similar routine goes on and on for days, and eventually weeks. The friends are surprised that they haven't heard any more news about the attacks on Hanakura and Kiminatsu after accidentally meeting Katsuro.

"It's probably because he knows where we are now. That would mean the purpose of that air attack is to locate you two and bring you out of your kingdoms," Ruka had suggested.

Mikan and the company also told Misaki and Tsubasa the whole story that they were not notified before, and same with Youichi and Aoi, without hesitation. After all, Hikaru had told them to _"tread this path alone with six others the Alices are given." _And because of that message, they told the other four not to tell their parents or close relations. They oblige.

From then, their lives have been pretty peaceful. The friends didn't miss their family too much, since they could call home whenever they wanted to.

Of course though, their tranquility didn't last forever...

_~(^^)~_

"Hotaruuuuuuuuuuuuu! Stop hogging the bathroom!" Mikan cries as she knocks on their bathroom.

A slit from out of nowhere opens and a punching glove pops out and hits her in the face, causing Mikan to get even angrier.

"HOTARUUUUUUUUUUUUU! YOU BAKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" She shouts as she punches the door harder, sliding onto the floor while crying a waterfall.

"Are you okay, Mikan?" Mikan bolts upright when she hears Ruka ask.

"Yeah, it's just the HOTARU is hogging the washroom, AGAIN!" She shouts couple of the words, making sure that Hotaru can hear it.

"You know, Misaki's mom said that you can use Misaki's washroom too if you want to..." Ruka comments, sweatdropping.

"Thank you, I will do that. Thank you Ruka. HOTARU however, I'm NOT her friend anymore!" Mikan replies. She walks briskly to Misaki's washroom, and slams the door.

Natsume walks to Ruka, who is still standing in the same spot, sweatdropping.

"What happened Ruka," he asks.

"Another girl fight," Ruka replies as he shrugs. "Let's go have some breakfast."

Without another word, the two friends walk downstairs together to get food.

_~(^^)~_

After breakfast, the friends lie on the field. After constant quarreling, Natsume thinks that it's fine to have a day's worth of a break.

"That cloud looks like a rabbit," Mikan comments as she points to the sky.

"That one looks like ice cream," Tsubasa replies.

"This one looks like Tsubasa getting hit in the face," Misaki teases.

"Hey!" Tsubasa yells as he gets up from his lying position.

"Oh shut up," Misaki retorts as she punches him in the stomach, causing Tsubasa to double over.

"That hurt!" He hollers.

"Whatever. Just lie back down."

"Oh guys! I see a really fast bird!" Mikan points at a cloud in the distance.

"Wait Mikan," Hotaru squints her eyes, "that's not a bird. That's a bomb!" She hollers.

As fast as lightening, they all get up and look at where the girls were pointing at. They see it fall, and smoke ascends into the air not long after.

"It's impossible that that is Hanakura and Kiminatsu," Ruka comments. He frantically turns his head to Natsume, who is looking at the smoke with thought.

"Yeah, that's not Kiminatsu and Hanakura they're attacking. That was Ruka's sector," he replies, causing everyone to look at each other in fear.

"What should we do?" Mikan cries.

"Mikan, calm down. There's one thing that's for sure. We need you and Natsume out of here," Hotaru replies with a very serious voice. "If Ruka's suspicions are correct from last week, we need to get out of here and find Katsuro, who is the mastermind behind all of this."

As she says it, they feel the ground shake, causing great alarm to the friends on the field.

"Go! Now!" Tsubasa shouts, him and Misaki pushing the four towards the forest. "Mikan, use your nullification to cover you and the others from debris."

"Wait! I don't think it can work on all six of us!" Mikan shouts through the destructive noises.

"Mikan," Misaki puts her hand on her shoulder, "Tsubasa and I are staying here."

"WHAT?" Mikan cries. "But you guys can get killed!"

"Mikan, this may seem strange, but since we received the Alices, we've been having a gut feeling to protect our sectors, and to do that is by staying here. That's probably the same case with Youichi and Aoi, with the exception that Youichi is helping to protect Hanakura and Kiminatsu."

"But...!"

"We are not leaving, Mikan. Go, before it's too late. Find that man, and kill him, please," Tsubasa bends to eye-level with her, looking at her with gentle eyes.

Mikan wipes her tears, and puts the nullification shield over her and her three friends. "Stay safe, senpais," she says for all of them.

They nod with a smile, and run down the field, leaving the four friends at the top.

"Let's go," Mikan says with hard determination.

* * *

... And the next chapter will be the climax, and then it's the end of this fanfic! -tears up- Since the current ongoing stories are all approaching the end, Kyoko-tan and I have ideas for our next project. The only thing is, we want to know what you readers prefer to read! **Please check out our poll on our profile. **

The next chapter won't come out until I get at least** 2 reviews** for this chapter. Visit our blog as well, goldenstarlight at wordpress [dot] com. Thanks for reading!

Until next time,  
- Sakura-tan


	17. XVII: Final Confrontation

**Writer and Editor: Sakura-tan**

**Disclaimer: i do not own gakuen alice, it belongs to higuchi tachibana. (You have no idea how hard it was to type that... x_X)**

* * *

_XVII. Final Confrontation_

* * *

"_Let's go," Mikan says with hard determination._

After that strong statement, the friends have been walking through the woods for about two hour straight, Mikan and Natsume leading the way by their intuition. After the second wave of air attacks, they have stopped once again. This relieves the four teens. They learn that there were only a couple hits in each sector, excluding Natsume's and Mikan's.

Mikan's nullification has been really useful keeping them safe. With the help of Hotaru's invention to prolong the power, she didn't get too worn out.

"I'm thirsty!" Mikan cries as they are sitting down under shade for a small break.

"Calm down idiot. We'll find some water soon," Hotaru retorts, having earphones on and a screen in front of her.

"Nee Hotaru, what are you doing?"

"Using my GPS to find the nearest fresh water source."

"Awesome! What else can it do?"

"Locate everything."

"Hmm, it seems that Natsume's advice worked on you, nee?"

"He's smarter than _you_," Hotaru says irritatingly.

Mikan sighs again, too tired to argue back. "Well Hotaru, he's smarter than all of us... combined."

Not soon after she speaks, the machine in Hotaru's hand beeps, alarming the boys as well. Ruka and Natsume walk over to them.

"Did you find anything?" Natsume asks, hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, there's one just past the forest. It should take about... 15 minutes or so by walk?" Hotaru looks up, uninterested.

"Oh, that's not bad," Ruka comments. "If we use your cart, we can get there in minutes!"

Mikan's eye twitches, her head turning stiffly to her friend.

"Ho. ta. ru. You're saying that we could've DRIVEN the whole time?"

"Mikan, you're stupid. That thing uses something called _gas_, which we will not reach in a couple hour's walk," Natsume snaps.

"Well I'm so soooorry," Mikan replies sarcastically.

"Anyways, Mikan, get your shield up. We're walking to get water." Hotaru puts her gadgets into a mini purse again, and puts the bag over her shoulder.

Mikan jumps up in reply, and takes Natsume's side, and they walk downhill.

_~(^^)~_

"Finally!" Mikan shouts, as they see the glistening lake, shining from the sun's reflection. It makes the water look like a nice blue. The other friends soon follow, using their hand to grab a small drink that quenches their thirst.

"Ugh, now I'm hungry." Mikan sighs.

"Grab some berries off the bushes next to Ruka," Hotaru responds, as she along with Natsume observes their surroundings.

"_Mikan,"_ Natsume says telepathically.

"_Yeah?" _

"_This place looks inhabited, as if someone lives here."_

Mikan looks at their surroundings, as Ruka continues picking the berries. He can tell that she and Natsume are using telepathy.

Mikan notices that they are surrounded by nicely trimmed trees, and the river they were just drinking from is surrounded by perfectly carved stones. The bushes are nicely placed, and the flowers on the trees and the shrubs are flourishing beautifully. There is a stone lantern just on the edge of the stone-encased river, along with a nice bird fountain on the other side where the stone lantern lays. There is no doubt that someone is/was living here.

"_Watch out, and don't let your guard down."_

"_Okay, thanks for the input."_

"Who do you think lives here?" Ruka asks, as if reading their conversation. It's not hard to figure out that they may be trespassing on someone's territory though.

"Who knows. It's probably a very skilled gardener though. This place is gorgeous," Mikan replies.

"Either way, I think we should leave soon. I feel a bit guilty for us being here, drinking their water and eating the berries they probably took a lot of time to take care of."

"Yeah, let's go. There should be an opening up ahead, judging from the Advanced GPS."

The four stand back up, and after much persistence from Mikan, they use the cart, driving farther north. After about another hour or so, they meet the opening, and they feel all of the twisting and turning it has paid off. Although there is no sign that a human lives here, they don't mind. The grass is perfectly green, and with the sun, the grass looks as if it is... shining.

"This would be a perfect place for a picnic," Mikan remarks jokingly.

Ruka nods his head in agreement. "We should come here next time to do just that!" He smiles at the others. He freezes in place when he sees Natsume's cautious expression. "Natsume, what's wrong?"

"Shh," he says sharply. The girls notice the sudden change in atmosphere amongst them, and they freeze their movements as well, trying to be as quiet as possible.

Then, Natsume quickly uses his ice Alice, and shoots it towards the woods. A cry is heard in the forest, shocking the friends. A familiar man emerges from the trees, clutching his forearm with his hand.

"Why you...!" Katsuro growls. "You will pay for what you have done!"

"W-where did you come from?" Mikan hollers in surprise.

"_He has been following us the whole time since we left the garden," _Natsume answers the question clairvoyantly.

"_What? Why didn't you warn us?"_

"_I couldn't confirm my suspicions, and I didn't want him to know we suspected anything. It would've caught you three off guard too. It would be better to fight him in an open area anyways."_

"_As usual, your thinking is too elite for us," _Mikan jokes.

"Either way, you two are going to die here. Isn't that good enough?" Katsuro sneers.

Natsume arms fire all around Katsuro, forming them into darts. Katsuro falters, shocked by the quick and sudden change in events, but then he looks back at the owner.

"Hmm, interesting. You and Hikaru are completely different."

"Of course, idiot."

"Mikan and Natsume, do you know what Alices I have?"

Mikan replies as if this is the easiest question she has ever been asked. "Dark, duh."

"_No Mikan, he said 'Alices.' He has another one!"_

"_What?" _

Then all of a sudden, they feel the ground shaking again. However, they know for a fact that they are not from air attacks in the distance.

"Wrong, little girl. I have dark, and EARTH!" As he shouts, vines twist and turn around the group, causing the friends to split sides: Ruka and Natsume on one side, and Mikan and Hotaru on the other. The vines keep them from merging together again. They can tell that attempting to get around it will just make them a clear target to get hit with Katsuro's power.

"_Natsume!"_

"_It's fine, Mikan. You have Imai. Just... stay safe," _Natsume advises telepathically.

"_You too, Natsume," _she replies. "Guys, when we kill Katsuro, let's treat ourselves to gelato, okay?" Mikan screams out loud, hoping the other side can hear.

"Of course!" Ruka replies back with the same confidence.

The four friends back their bodies onto the vines, Alices at ready. They notice "spirits" emerge from the forest, transparent and blood-thirsty for a kill.

"_What? Is this Katsuro's doing?" _Mikan asks Natsume.

"_Yes. When you're a little kid, don't you get scared of ghosts at night?"_

"_Of course not! And also, don't they go through everything? How are we supposed to him them if our Alices will go right through their so-called 'bodies'?"_

"_If we can't hit them, then they can't hit us. If Katsuro is sending out these sprites to attack us, it's meaning to do harm. The only way to do that is by physically attacking us. That means we can hit them. Also, I thought you would be the person who would cry every night about ghosts. Either way though, it's now reality, so prepare yourself."_

"_Ugh. Great!" _Mikan shouts sarcastically to Natsume. Then, the fighting commences.

Hotaru and Mikan, although their Alices are mostly defensive, they use that to their advantage. Mikan sticks with Hotaru, and they work as a team. Hotaru has her sniper shooter (yes it emits the word "baka") which launches 5 bullets a second, which also has a device that beeps when a spirit is behind her. This is very effective against an actual human. Mikan uses her nullification which forces the spirits to slow their attacking, running, jumping and any other motion, giving the girls a bigger opening. Mikan's light Alice is really effective in this instance.

"Are you alright?" Hotaru calls Mikan.

"Yep. Not a scratch on me. How about you?"

"My shooter got dented when I hit the face of a spirit," she says monotonously.

"Wow Hotaru, so smooth!" Mikan says jokingly with sarcasm.

"Yes, I know," Hotaru replies in a sarcastic remark, but still monotonously.

Suddenly, Mikan trips over a spirit as she tries to dodge another, and then falls to the floor.

"Hotaruuuuuuuu!" she calls as a sprite is about to land on her with a dagger. Hotaru runs and kicks the spirit in the face, and hits the dagger off its hand by "karate-chopping" where the hand meets forearm.

Mikan gets right back up, and uses her light ray to attack the foe behind her friend.

Then after a while, they look at the ground of the knocked-out souls, and high fives each other. The sprites disappear into thin air.

This doesn't go unseen though. Katsuro notices this, and summons more upon their side. Mikan and Hotaru notice.

"Oh boy, we're going to be here for a while." Mikan sighs, but fights again nonetheless. _"Natsume, watch out. Katsuro will just create more of the spirits when you kill them all."_

Natsume and Ruka stand where they have been standing at the beginning: back against the wall, facing the open with Alices ready.

"_Don't worry about us. Mikan, use as little energy as possible, and the two of us should find a way to break down this vine wall. We have to kill Katsuro or this will keep coming," _Natsume transmits as he creates a wall of fire around another group of sprits and kills them, doing the same with ice. Ruka is standing beside him, using animals and attacking them. Because of the forest around them, he has no worry about having to send in more. He takes advantage of the specific qualities that each animal has, and uses them very effectively. No animals have got even a scratch yet.

In summary, Natsume and Ruka are knocking the sprites out as if it is nothing. Neither are panting or sweating. They are clearly the superior group of the two pairs of two.

"Ruka, beside you," Natsume notifies as he kills another 5 spirits in one go, using one sharp sheet of ice and manipulating it in the air to kill them.

"Got it," he replies, and a squirrel runs underneath between the legs, and bites the hair, causing the sprite to fall. The tiger then pounces on it, and that simple act knocks the spirit out.

"_Okay, I have an idea. Hotaru told me that you can't knock the vine wall down unless you hit the ends of it. Since you and Ruka are probably doing better than the two of us, I'll tell you when we're done with a wave of sprites. Then, on the count of three, we'll use our Alices and hit the ends of it simultaneously."_

"_Do we go on three, or do we go on 'go'?" _Natsume jokes. _"And also, you know that I can just shoot the both sides simultaneously."_

"_Haha very funny. We'll go on three to save time. To answer the second question, well, I don't think we'll be prepared fast enough anyways, so we might as well do it like this. This at least gets all of us prepared."_

"_Okay, whatever you say polka-dots."_

"_Hey!" _she shouts back jokingly. _"You're a pervert, even at a time like this!"_

"You're _the one who showed it to me, smart one."_

"_Okay, we'll blame the wind, okay?"_

"_Sure," _Natsume says sarcastically as he kills the last of another wave of sprites.

Katsuro looks at the males, stunned. _"How can they possibly kill them all so fast?" _he shouts in his mind, anger rising up to his face. _"Fine, then I'll kill them myself!" _He aims and shoots dark darts towards them as his entrance. Natsume notices it right away, and builds a block of ice in front of them, and the darts stick into the sheet, shattering it into pieces.

"_Tch," _Natsume thinks to himself.

"Well, it seems that you two managed to defeat my minions so fast that I decided to kill you up front," he says with complete evil in his voice.

"Not if we kill you first," Natsume retorts. He creates fireballs beside his head, and launches them at Katsuro. Katsuro dodges them effectively, but Natsume predicted that. His fireballs stop behind him and turn back to hit his back, and it hits its target.

Katsuro gives a scream of pain, alerting the girls on the other side, finishing off another round of evil spirits.

"_Natsume! What's going on?" _Mikan says perceptively with worry.

"_We're fighting Katsuro. Just tell me when you're done killing the sprites, and I'll help knock the wall down."_

"_Would it be a better idea if I get Hotaru to help then?"_

"_Then we wouldn't be prepared fast enough," _Natsume teases, imitating the tone Mikan used to say this phrase before.

"_Oh shut up. Fine. I'll tell you when Hotaru and I get it down," _Mikan jokes back.

"_... Fine. Just make sure you tell me _before _you knock that thing down. Tripping can turn the whole thing around from defeating this... thing."_

"_Okay, deal."_

Hotaru baka-guns the last sprite, and then they see it disintegrate. The two give a relieving sigh, and Mikan looks at her happily.

"What is it?" Hotaru asks, raising a brow.

"Help me tear this wall down."

"Ruka, watch out behind you," Natsume says calmly as he lands another kick on Katsuro.

Ruka hears it loud and clear. An eagle grabs onto Ruka with its legs, bringing Ruka into the air and swiftly back down.

"Natsume, duck!" Ruka calls out as he swiftly dodges another dark dart.

Natsume does it without hesitation and the flying branch zooms past above him.

There is no doubt that Katsuro is being defeated. Ruka and Natsume can read each other's movements swiftly and accurately, not only because of the training, but how close of a friendly bond they have. That is clearly shown as they are fighting Katsuro. Kick after kick, Alice after Alice, punch after punch.

"_The wall is coming down in 1... 2... 3!" _Mikan shouts to Natsume clairvoyantly. Exactly at three, Natsume hears vines tumbling, catching the other two men off-guard.

Mikan and Hotaru emerge into the men's views, with a happy expression etched on their faces. The brunette cheers, and Ruka quickly gives her a high-five. Hotaru relaxes, giving a sigh of relief, while Natsume just looks at the cheering group with a simple expressionless look. However, there is no doubt that he's a little bit relieved as well.

Katsuro sees his masterpiece falling onto the ground, and that's when he snaps. The fact that he may actually not win this thing and just simply looking at the four friends brings him into a complete rage. Faster than a cheetah running at maximum speed, the vines rise into the air. Turning the tip horizontally, he lets it fly to Ruka, who Katsuro realizes is the weakest at defense.

"Ruka!" Natsume shouts, realizing what's going on amidst his cheering friends. Ruka turns around, seeing the vines coming at him. He didn't even come to his senses until he closes his eyes. All he hears are vines penetrating whatever is in front of him, which he is assuming is an animal.

He snaps his eyes open, only to see that Natsume has used his fire and ice Alice and is standing in front of him. He looks where he heard the penetration and notices that Natsume is bleeding on his arms and legs, and the sides of his chest. The ice remnants and the charred vines are on the floor.

The faces of happiness quickly contorted to expressions of trauma and stun. The girls stood there frozen as he is now. They all realize that the vines broke through the ice shield, and were going at such a fast speed, the wall of fire wasn't quick enough to burn it to ashes before stabbing the owner of the elements.

"Natsume!" the three friends call simultaneously as Natsume's knees give away, staying up by one arm and knees. They run to his side, only to see him cough out blood. He uses his hand to cover his mouth with no specific reason, just as a reflex.

"Are you okay?" Natsume hears Mikan yell. Then Mikan, hearing no reply, uses her telepathy.

"_Natsume! Just say something!"_

"_I-I'm fine," _Natsume mutters back using their given power. His coughing stops for a moment. He wipes his mouth, and uses this time to hold onto Mikan's shoulder to try and stand up. The friends look in shock that he can still move.

"Natsume! I don't think you should be doing that!" Mikan cries.

"Why did you save me?" Ruka says in complete worry and guilt.

"Because I'm stronger than you," Natsume says thickly, but the friends are aware that he is joking around.

"N-Natsume..."

"Either way," Natsume says as Mikan props him on her shoulder, "we have to get this done and over with."

"_Mikan, look at Katsuro. He has the same shocked face as he had when he killed Hikaru," _Natsume mentions.

Mikan looks at him, anger flushing her face and taking control of her body. All of that dissipates though when she sees the shock and fear that he is emitting.

"Ka-Katsuro..." Mikan manages to mutter.

"I-I-I'm not a monster," he says quietly, Mikan and the gang not hearing. Then, he repeats it louder and louder. "I'm not a monster. I'm not a monster... I'M NOT A MONSTER!" he cries, and then out of his jacket pocket, he pulls out a gun. The four friends look at him with alarm, fear... and then pity.

Katsuro's tears are pouring down his face, his whole body shaking. He points the gun at Mikan, then Natsume, then Hotaru, then at Ruka. His focus is completely unsteady. "If any of you move, I'm shooting!"

Mikan looks at him, and then at Natsume. They don't even need telepathy to know what each other is thinking. They look back at the man in front of them.

"Katsuro—"

"NO! Don't say my name!" he hollers, his face contorted with anger. However, the fear is still really evident.

"Katsuro, you're not a monster," Mikan says calmly as she walks closer to him, Natsume now being propped by Ruka. "You are a normal teen who wants to love, and be loved."

"I didn't kill him! I didn't! It was my parents' fault that I had turned like this!"

"I-It's no one's fault, Katsuro. Katsuro, your family loves you."

"No they don't!" he cries, his gun still pointed at Mikan.

"They want you to have an easier life, that's why they wanted you to marry a richer girl. They—"

"I don't love Nadeshiko! I don't! And I..." He chokes on his tears. "And I didn't mean to kill Hikaru!" he cries.

"You don't love Nadeshiko, and you don't hate Hikaru. You want them as your friends," Mikan says with a gentle voice. Finally, Katsuro drops his gun, and calms down a bit.

Then, she carefully walks up to Katsuro, and embraces him into a hug, shocking and stunning him. Ever so slowly, he hugs her back. This causes the other three friends to smile, and Mikan's smile widens when she feels warm arms around her back.

Katsuro, with his eyes closed, remembers Nadeshiko's smiling face, and all of the moments that he spent with her. Then lastly, he remembers the look of serene and comfort as she had her head on Hikaru's shoulder. The smiling and gentle laughter that she emitted, as well as Hikaru's gentle hand entwined with hers that night.

"_I'm sorry Nadeshiko, Hikaru... will you ever forgive me?" _he thinks to himself, hoping that maybe the two will hear him and his plea.

A moment later, Mikan breaks the hug, and then she and the others gasp.

Katsuro is disappearing.

Mikan and the others notice that they can see through his feet, and that spreads upwards on his body. They look at his face, which shows a happy smile, one that feels loved and grateful. The tears streaming down on not tears of sadness, but tears of joy.

"Thank you, Mikan," he says softly, "and I'm sorry." His face then also slowly becomes more and more transparent and then disappears. The friends stay in their position, momentarily confused and bewildered.

"What was that?" Mikan finally utters. She doesn't hear a reply when she hears Ruka holler in worry behind her.

"Natsume!"

Mikan snaps her body around, to see Natsume still propped on Ruka's shoulder. However, she notices that blood dripping onto the grass from Natsume's limp hand. She sprints faster than she has ever done, and they bring him to the floor.

Natsume's breathing is ragged and shallow, his face pale and his skin is burning. Mikan lifts her hand from his stomach, feeling sticky goo. She looks at it in a complete combination of terror and confusion as she realizes that it's the blood of her boyfriend. None of them had noticed the wound embedded at the center of his abdomen.

"Natsume!" she cries. "Don't you DARE die on me!"

"Mikan, please calm down," Hotaru tries to reassure.

"Hotaru, we have to get him to the nearest hospital, now."

"Mikan. The farthest hospital is over two hour's worth of a walk from here."

"Then we'll use your cart!"

"Mikan, it won't get us far. It's pretty much out of gas!"

"We'll call someone to pick us up!" Mikan takes her phone out before they can say anything. Mikan's heart drops even more when she sees no bars and the phrase "No service" in bold letters. She snaps her head to her friends, in hopes of some relief. They also have their cellphones out, doing what she is doing. They shake their head, indicating that their phone has no service too.

"What should we do then?" Mikan shouts.

The friends look at her and the lying figure, his left hand clutched in the brunette's hands. They look at her with a face of sadness and regret. Mikan can tell right away what they are thinking, and she retorts with a bold voice.

"No! We are **not **going to give up!" Mikan suddenly thinks of an idea. "Okay. We'll walk and use the cart as far as we can possibly go, and one of us will always have our phones out. Once we see that there is service, we'll stop where we are and call the hospital, okay?"

The friends nod in agreement, knowing there's no other way to do this.

Mikan then looks at her boyfriend, whose condition has not got any better. He looks at her, trying to stay conscious. Mikan's heart tears into pieces when she looks at him. She is tempted to look away, but she has to be strong, for him. She and her friends have never seen Natsume this vulnerable before, which makes the whole situation even harder to digest. Even during the whole incident when he was fighting the man in black (which seems to be an incident so long ago), Natsume was strong.

"_Natsume, did you hear that? We're going to bring you to the hospital."_

"_Mmm," _Natsume responds after some silence.

Then Mikan slowly stands up, and they lay Natsume in the back of their mini-cart. Mikan sits beside him, while Ruka helps Hotaru navigate and indicate where to go.

"Natsume, are you feeling fine?"

"... Never been better," he can still manage to joke. Mikan laughs in response.

"Tell me if you feel worse. We'll do the best we can."

"... I'm fine," he musters back.

"Yeah right, and I'm Einstein," Mikan replies sarcastically. She looks back at him, waiting for a reply.

"I'm sorry," Mikan manages to just barely hear from her boyfriend. She looks at him in distress. She is about to reply with another joke, but judging from how Natsume is looking at her, she doesn't.

"Don't be sorry Natsume. You have helped us countless times. Like just recently, you showed me how to use my second Alice!" Mikan shouts with joy and gratefulness, attempting to hide her grief.

"Not only that," Ruka joins in, "but you are always aware of what is going on. If you weren't here, we would still be stuck in that portal, figuring out what we should be doing," he jokes.

Natsume looks at them, his face blank from expression. However, Mikan can see through his eyes that he is feeling a bit better.

"You also helped us with all of our training as well," Hotaru says in a gentle voice. Ruka and Mikan look at each other with a smile, happy to hear Hotaru's 'touchy' side.

The friends look at the scenery slowly buzzing by. Mikan has her phone out, and there is still no signal. Soon, they reach the lively garden.

"Nee Hotaru, do you think that maybe Katsuro lived there?"

"It would make sense. After all, he had to go into hiding. He would be safe here for the most part, I think."

Mikan nods.

"Do you want to stop here, Mikan-chan?" Ruka asks.

"No. We must get to town as fast as possible. We cannot lose any time."

After she says that, they feel the cart sputter to a stop, and Hotaru mutter something under her breath. "Shoot."

"We have no choice but to walk on foot then," Mikan mentions, and stands up. "We can pull the cart along with Natsume in it," she suggests. "We can take turns pulling it."

"Sure, if that's fine with Natsume." Ruka and the girls look at the said person.

"_Doesn't matter with me."_

"He says it's fine," Mikan tells her friends, and they do so.

After about another 30 minutes or so (they were walking 4 times the speed they usually walk, the adrenaline of their injured friend pumping them), they realize that they are getting closer and closer to Misaki's house.

"Why is there still no signal?" Ruka comments, looking at his phone.

"Maybe they cut off the lines because of the air attacks?" Mikan says with worry.

"That would make sense. They don't want the culprits to communicate with their phone lines," Hotaru replies.

"Then that means that we have to walk the whole way. We should get into Misaki's house. They'll know what to do," Mikan finals, and the friends oblige. She looks at Natsume.

"How are you do—" Mikan stops in the middle of her sentence. "Natsume? Natsume!" she cries, stopping the cart and jumping into it.

Natsume's breathing is very quick and heavy, his face paler than before. Now, he can barely even keep his eyes open.

"Natsume! We're almost there! Can you hold for just a little moment longer?"

They see no reply from Natsume, as his body is trembling. Mikan and her friends look at him with worry, also dropping what they are doing. The three's eyes open wide when they notice Mikan's hand get stained with her boyfriend's blood once again, as it had seeped through the cover that they had put over him. They see Natsume do a painful hacking cough, making him feel worse.

"_Jus-st l-leave m-me he-re M-Mi-kan... I... ca-can't hol-hold o-on any lo-longer..."_

"Natsume, please hang in there! We need to bring you back!" Mikan cries. "We don't want to lose you!"

Natsume tries to calm his body down, and gives a telepathic reply. Ruka and Hotaru notice Mikan tear up once again and flow down her blanched face.

"No!" Mikan shouts back. "We're not leaving you behind. Didn't you promise Aoi that you'll make it back safe and sound? Please!" Mikan's voice cracks.

Mikan sees his arm move under the cover.

"_W-we must d-do the k-kiss," _he manages to mutter telepathically.

"But you'll die!" Mikan hollers out loud, her emotions bursting.

"_I-I'll try my b-best. W-we must do i-it, for Hi-Hikaru and N-Nadeshiko."_

Mikan looks at her boyfriend's face through her blurred vision, seeing determination and seriousness. Mikan takes his blood blotched hand, and joins hers with it, palms touching each other. The other couple understands what they are doing, and they cry on each other's shoulders, knowing what the effect will be.

"_If I could have a miracle, let it be now!" _Mikan shouts to herself as she slowly plants her lips onto Natsume's.

Ruka and Hotaru look in astonishment, as a bright golden glow emerges from between their touching palms, and spreads, causing the two to cover their eyes with their arms from the brightness. When they open them a few moments later, they see the glow purge into the land. The two notices the broken buildings hemming themselves back up, looking exactly how it looked before all of this began.

When the glow cannot be seen anymore by their eyes, they look back at Mikan and Natsume. Natsume's wounds are gone, but he hasn't moved from his previous position. His eyes are closed, and his face void of expression. Then they look at Mikan, who is still crying. She opens her eyes, and notices the surroundings and Natsume.

"Mi-Mikan," is the only thing Hotaru manages to muster. Ruka and Hotaru stare at her, and what she will do next.

She leans her ear on her boyfriend's chest, where his heart lies, checking for his heart beat. Ruka and Hotaru see her eyes widen, as tears start streaming out of Mikan's eyes once again, her face contorting into hurt.

She clutches onto the lad, and embraces him into a tight and shaking hug.

"You idiot..." she whispers, holding him tighter.

* * *

Final chapter is up next. Please review, and visit our blog goldenstarlight at wordpress. Last chapter isn't coming until I get at least two reviews for this chapter. Thanks for reading.

- Sakura-tan

PS. Visit our profile to answer our poll guys! We need people to respond since Kyoko-tan and I are in the works of a couple new fanfiction! More info on our blog!


	18. XVIII: Miracles

And this is the end! I thank the readers, even if you didn't review. xD I'm always glad to see the story stats rise to the top whenever I release a chapter. Thank you all! :) (And Happy Valentine's Day! ... No I didn't purposely wait until today to release it. ... I mean it. -eye twitch-)

**Edit:** Fanfiction removes really long words for some reason, so there are random unnecessary spaces in between this one dialogue Mikan is saying (you'll see what I mean when you get to it...)

**Writer and Editor: Sakura-tan**

**Disclaimer: After all of these chapters, Gakuen is still NOT mine! It belongs to the awesome Higuchi Tachibana! :)**

* * *

"_We are here today to reflect on the life of Kouki Hikaru and Miyamoto Nadeshiko, a joint funeral that the two families proposed."_

"_I remember their smiling faces wherever they went. Hikaru was never a person to do that. He was a very conserved man, keeping his thoughts to himself. That changed. Hikaru turned into a handsome gentleman, and as each day went by, his smile grew and grew. _

_Nadeshiko was quite the contrary. She was very outgoing, and anyone who saw her will unwillingly smile as well. After all, that happened to us, Hikaru's family. Although we were greatly shocked at their death, we were happy to see Hikaru's smiling face as he died. We are happy that he lived his last breath in the girl he loved and loves. Hikaru, if you're watching us, we are proud of you, and are truly grateful about having you as our son. We won't say good bye, but more along the lines of 'see you later!'"_

"_I remember the time when Nadeshiko told us that she loved Hikaru. To be honest, we were a little suspicious. Now that memory seems so long ago, like a distant dream. Like how Nadeshiko's attitude changed Hikaru's, we noticed that Nadeshiko changed a lot as well. She became a much more patient and conserved lady. She became more aware of her surroundings... which was one reason we grew suspicious when she was disappearing from the house for five to six hours a day. We later realized that she was meeting Hikaru every day. Missing deadlines on assignments, not spending as much time with her school friends as before... the pieces do fall into place. Even in death, Nadeshiko is with Hikaru. Rest in peace, our lovely daughter."_

"_My little brother, or 'the little prince' as I would call him, like what others said, was a conserved man. He was quiet, and very picky. Not only at food, but in general. He would tell us upfront when our make-up smudged, or that he has to redo his whole essay because our dad dripped a couple drops of coffee onto it. Reflecting on that now, it's quite funny and ridiculous. However, that's what makes him my little brother. I'm not ashamed of him coming out into the public with me. He knows how to react to certain things as if he rehearsed it all over and over again. He had the special gift of reading people as quick as a snap. I remember this one time, when I was 17. I was really stressed out from studying for this one math test. It was 3 in the morning when Hikaru quietly knocked on the door, and came in with a mug of fresh hot chocolate. Before I could ask why he brought me hot chocolate at this hour, he just replied jokingly saying that he doesn't want me jumping off the walls from drinking coffee. Hikaru, my little prince. You'll always be my little brother. There is always a spot in my heart for you, my sibling."_

"_Nadeshiko, I have to admit, is one crazy lady. Being a brother who is only a year younger than her, we would argue a lot. We would try to embarrass each other in front of our friends. In school, our classmates would always joke around, comparing me and my sister, whether it be school, which by the way, she greatly excelled in compared to me, or athletics—what I excelled in—it would always get us back to arguing. However, I can tell that she greatly cares about me, even when we were in a fight. There is one thing that I have noticed as I reflected about my older sister, and that is that she never said 'I hate you', or 'I wish you were never my little brother'. I would never know how it feels to be told that, and I don't know if I should be relieved, or sad. Contrary to that, I tried to conjure up how many times she said something affectionate to me. When I finalized the count, I knew it wasn't accurate. There were way too many times! And also adding the times I don't remember, it would be an extraordinary amount. I-I guess I'll just say one more thing before I go off the podium and cry: Nadeshiko, I love you. You are an awesome older sister, and I can't wish for nothing more. Have fun in your new life, but don't hurt yourself!"_

"_Nee Hikaru, can't you help but cry when you hear these things?" Nadeshiko comments as she wipes her nose with her pure white sleeve._

"_Of course I can't help it! I'm not sure if they're tears of joy or sadness though," Hikaru retort, doing the same action as his girlfriend._

"_Why can't it be both?" Nadeshiko laughs, as they look down at the transparent glass ceiling._

"_Do you want to go now?" Hikaru asks after a while. "I think Katsuro might be waiting for us."_

"_Oh, okay."_

_Hikaru and Nadeshiko take one more look at the gathering below them as they stretched out their white—yet transparent, to the human eye at least—wings. They give each other a peck on the lips, and then hand in hand, depart into the skies above the clouds._

* * *

_XVIII. Final Chapter: Miracles_

* * *

Bright light seeps through the cracks uncovered by the curtains, disturbing Mikan and Hotaru's slumber. Mikan turns on her bed, lifting her head up momentarily to look at the time.

_**9:35am.**_

She sits up, wipes her eyes and stretches. She notices Hotaru has woken up as well, though she's still lying on her bed, looking at the ceiling thinking. Mikan sits on her bed, and glances around the room.

"Can you believe that it was just a week ago when everything happened?" Hotaru sighs, also sitting up on her bed.

"Yeah, I can't believe it either," Mikan reminisces.

_~(^^)~_

_One week ago, Forest near Misaki's mansion_

"You idiot..." Mikan whispers, tears streaming down her cheek. She grasps her boyfriend tighter. "Don't you dare scare me like that again, you hear?" she shouts at the sleeping body.

The friends look at Natsume, whose wounds have been recovered, and face restoring to its normal color. Mikan can feel heat flowing back into his body. His eyes are still closed though, uttering no reply.

"Mikannnn!" they hear a distant voice call. They turn to where it is coming from.

"Misaki!" Ruka calls. "What are you guys doing here? How did you find us?"

"We saw this glowing white light," she replies, panting from her running. "We thought it was you guys who did it, so we used your phones to use as tracking devices." She glances at Mikan, her eyes widening slightly when seeing Natsume's head resting on her lap. "Is Na-Natsume—"

"No, he's fine, I think. Can you help us carry him to your house? I'll explain everything after," Mikan replies, still a little shaken about everything.

"Sure." She picks up Natsume, and puts him on her back. "Wow, all of Natsume's strength training paid off. You know, he's really light."

The three friends shrug and laugh.

"It's good to know that you guys are still laughing like before," she chuckles.

"So where's Tsubasa?"

"He's still at his kingdom. All of the sectors cut off the phone lines because of the air attacks. Nothing has come since the time we got you to leave, luckily. Did everything go okay?"

Mikan looks at the sleeping figure on Misaki's back, and smiles.

"Everything went fine, perfectly fine."

_~(^^)~_

"So the only thing we haven't established yet is what Alice was formed when you and Natsume joined Alices," Tsubasa concludes one afternoon.

Tsubasa, after being notified that Mikan and the others defeated Katsuro, insisted to run back to Misaki's house. However, his parents ensured him that he needs to rest and so did his friends... and even the parents, and so they did.

Mikan slept for a whole day straight, and that shocked Hotaru and Ruka. However, when she did wake up, the two were relieved... somewhat.

The first thing that Mikan asked about when she woke up was if her boyfriend was okay. However, her question was futile. Hotaru and Ruka told her that Natsume was still in bed.

Natsume had not woken up the whole time. They let another day pass by, but still no movements were shown. Mikan left a glass of water on his bedside, in case he did happen to wake up. Every time she went into the room to check on him though, she noticed that he had not moved, and that the glass was still untouched. Although they were really worried, at least he was alive and breathing. They assumed that the Alice forging took a lot of energy out of him, especially since he was in a brink-of-death situation. None uttered a word about what had happened that day, and they decided that there was no point in delaying it any further.

"Well, it brought the buildings back to the way it was before. It healed Natsume too... what can you determine from that?" Misaki mentions.

The friends sit thinking to themselves. Mikan however, can't seem to concentrate because of that sleeping figure upstairs, motionless...

... or so she thought.

"_It's the Alice of Restoring," _Mikan suddenly hears, startling her. Her eyes widen with happiness, as she looks around frantically for the lad.

"_Natsume?" _she replies clairvoyantly back with shock. _"Where are you?" _Then she turns to the steps, where she sees him standing at the top, holding onto the railing.

"Natsume!" Mikan cries, startling the pondering friends. Before they can ask, Mikan runs to where Natsume is and hugs him violently, catching him off guard, but regaining his composure in no time. "I'm so glad to finally hear your voice!"

"Miss me, stupid?" Natsume teases as he reciprocates the hug (for once).

"Hey! But yes, I did. You scared us! You slept for four days straight!"

"Sorry young lady, but that isn't in my control."

Mikan puffs her cheeks, but then it dissipates nonetheless.

"Natsume, how long were you standing here?"

"Enough to hear you guys talk about the Alice that was forged."

"Oh," is all Mikan says. Then, she realizes that she was too excited seeing Natsume moving that she didn't bother to ask about his condition. "Are you fine to walk though?"

"Hn."

Mikan smiles at his signature remark. She suddenly hugs him once more, and gives him a quick peck on the cheek. She completely forgets about her friends at the bottom.

"Okay okay lovebirds, we need to get back to our question," Misaki comments leisurely, clearly happy for the couple. The others, she can tell, are just as elated as her as they glance as the joyful couple on the staircase.

"It's the Alice of Restoration," Mikan says simply, her eyes not parting from her boyfriend.

The friends look at each other. Raising a brow at the brunette, they wonder how she got that. Hotaru is the only one to find out the answer though.

"I'm assuming Natsume told you that?"

Mikan nods, her smile not faltering nor did she look back at her friends.

"Well, that solves that then," Tsubasa puts her arms on the back of his head.

"Oh wait, there's something else that I've been wondering," Mikan pipes up, finally casting her eyes at her friends down below.

"What?" Hotaru butts.

"Well, what happened to Katsuro? He... sort of… disappeared."

"Think about it Mikan, everything with Nadeshiko and Hikaru happened two centuries ago. Do you expect him to still be as healthy as he did look? That was probably a spirit or something."

Mikan doesn't give an audible response. For a second she doesn't really believe what her friend said, but after all of this, it shouldn't be that weird. Mikan just shrugs her shoulder. Then she realizes that she and Natsume are still on the steps. She leads Natsume down the steps, still not trusting him that he's fine despite his protests, and drags him to the table. She hands him a cup of tea and some cookies.

"Eat up!" she shouts happily.

Then they hear a stomach growl. Mikan blushes in embarrassment, while Natsume pushes his plate of food towards her.

"Maybe you're the one who should eat up, glutton," Natsume sneers playfully.

"H-Hey! I'm not a glutton."

"Right. You're a moron."

"Hey!"

The friends, apart from Natsume and Mikan look at each other, shrug and laugh at the once arguing pair. Then, they go back to what they are doing.

_~(^^)~_

_Present time, the girl's bedroom_

"Anyways Hotaru, I think we're going to be late for breakfast. We should get ready."

"Mmm," Hotaru replies as she gets out of bed. Mikan follows suit.

"You can use the washroom first," Mikan says. This surprises Hotaru, because for the past few weeks they were here, she and Mikan are always rushing to see who gets to the washroom first.

Hotaru smiles.

"Thanks." Hotaru walks to the washroom, leaving Mikan standing on her bedside, leaning on the counter.

"_That was a weird dream. I guess I'll ask Natsume about this at breakfast," _Mikan ponders. _"Speaking of Natsume, I wonder if he's awake... he HAS to go to Central Town with me when we get back home!" _Mikan gives a wide smile, feeling butterflies in her stomach. _"And I'll make Hotaru and Ruka come along too... it'll be like a double date!" _Mikan walks to her suitcase and grabs the clothing she is going to wear today: a dark plaid school skirt, and a beige v-neck shirt with short sleeves that flare out. Along with that, skin-colored knee-high socks and dark flats. She decides that she'll grab her black cardigan when they head downstairs. She lies back down on her bed, waiting for Hotaru to finish up.

"_I should also ask my parents if the four of us can have class together, so that at least it won't be as nerve-racking and boring. I should also ask if I can train my Alices with Natsume's butler-person. It'd be awesome!"_

"Mikan, are you there?" Hotaru asks, waving her hand in front of her friend's dazed face.

"O-oh, hi Hotaru."

"I'm done with the washroom."

"Okay. Thanks!" Mikan yawns one more time and then stands back up. She looks at what her friend decided to wear today. She's wearing a simple purple camisole with a dark green baggy sweater, matching her dark green camouflage khaki caprice. She is wearing white ankle socks, so Mikan assumes that she is going to wear her usual blue and white colored running shoes.

Mikan casually walks into the washroom, and locks the door behind her.

_~(^^)~_

"Good Morniiiiiiiiiiing!" Mikan shouts as she and Hotaru enter the kitchen. "Sorry we're late!"

They notice what they expected: Natsume and Ruka are already at the table eating their breakfast with Misaki's parents. Misaki probably went to Tsubasa's house, the girls assume.

"You're late gals," Misaki's dad says as he grabs two plates, food overflowing on the plate. "Here's your share." He sets it down at the two vacant seats.

"Thank you!" Mikan shouts as she runs up, choosing a seat. "Hmm, which one has the most food...?"

"Just sit down, stupid," Natsume retorts.

This time, she disregards his reply, not feeling the need to retort to his usual remark. She sits on the seat next to her boyfriend.

"Itadakimasu!" she shouts happily, and then digs in.

"Wow, you're really hungry today, Mikan," Ruka says as he smiles.

Mikan swallows. "Of course! This is so good!"

"Glad you like it," Misaki's mom comments. Mikan gives a bright smile before remembering a thought that she had to address to her boyfriend.

"Oh, Natsume," Mikan starts as she chews her last bite. "You know, I had this strange dream last night. It was about Nadeshiko and Hikaru's funeral..."

Natsume shrugs, as if it is nothing. "I had the same too."

"Is it because we officially ended the prophecy?"

"Probably."

"Wait, we never got that dream," Ruka comments.

"Because you two weren't originally part of the whole incident," Misaki's dad says with complete modesty.

"Well, it's good that everything is settled now," Misaki's mom changes the topic.

Mikan nods. "It's nice to know that there aren't any major casualties."

"Oh, that reminds me. Natsume's and Mikan's parents are going to be holding a press meeting to the public about the air attacks in a few minutes."

Mikan looks at Natsume, while he glances back at her from the corner of his eye.

"Are they going to tell the citizens what actually happened?" Mikan asks as she gives her attention back to the parents.

Misaki's dad shrugs. "We don't know. It's going to be broadcasted on a lot of the TV stations though, so do you guys and gals want to watch it here?"

"Sure," Ruka speaks for the four of them.

"We can bring the food into the home theatre. I'll get the butlers to set up a lunch table for us."

"Yay!" Mikan hollers once again with joy.

_~(^^)~_

Misaki's dad grabs the remote, and flips the TV on. He changes the channel to a news station that is showing the scene live. There are a large bundle of microphones hooked onto four stands while the news reporters are all around getting ready, or are already reporting something.

Finally after a few more moments, the friends and parents notice Natsume's and Mikan's parents walk into the open. Flashes from the cameras are flickering all around. Each of them takes one podium. Hiro and Kaoru are in the centre, while Yukihira and Yuka are on the edge. They are shuffling their papers, which they assume is the outline of today's speech.

"Ugh, I never knew how our parents can deal with all of the lights," Mikan says as she blocks the bursts of light with her hand.

Natsume doesn't give a reply. Instead, he looks attentively at the screen. Mikan notices that the others have already dropped their utensils and left their food where it lays. She follows suit, looking at the TV. The crowd silences, and Hiro begins the session.

"_**As all the citizens of this country have noticed, there have been several air attacks all around. Starting with Kiminatsu, and then Hanakura. Then the other sectors were attacked as well a few weeks later. Today, my wife and I, as well as the Hanakura rulers are here to speak to all of you about the air attacks."**_

"_**You'll be glad to know that the air attacks on this country are no more," **_Kaoru reassures. _**"You may ask what makes us feel so certain about this. There are various reasons for this.**_

_**As the strongest rulers of this country, we know that we have to be prepared for situations like this. Luckily, this was the case when these attacks occurred. There were no casualties, but a few sustained injuries and are at the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries."**_

"_**Now, the reasons behind the attacks are very unbelievable," **_Yukihira finally joins in. _**"Although many of you, the citizens, have not heard of what we are about to say, we encourage you to take it upon yourselves and learn more about the information we are about to give. Many of you may not believe us, and many of you may ridicule us. However, as rulers, we think that the citizens of such a wonderful nation deserve the truth behind everything."**_

"_**About 100 years ago, two people, a couple in the pre-Kiminatsu was assassinated. The reason behind the attack was not available to the public. The police and the coroners kept the documents locked. The parents were not even told the **_**real**_** reason behind the assassination," **_Yuka continues. _**"That is, until now."**_

"_**The two citizens were killed because they were part of a prophecy that was set a century before that, or two centuries ago from present day. The young teenage girl of 16, 200 years ago, vowed for revenge against the man who killed her boyfriend over reasons that were completely unjust. The near-death boy and his girlfriend used the powers they had called **_**'Alices', **_**and prophesized that the killer would die, and he was then sealed." **_Kaoru flips her page, indicating that it is now her husband's turn to speak.

"_**However, the seal didn't last forever on him. He finally broke through it after fifty years has passed, not breaking his vow that he is going to kill the descendants of the couple. The couple one century ago was killed by him, the man going by 'Kurogawa Katsuro', is the man that did so. If you look through the tale about Nadeshiko and Hikaru, the tragic lovers 200 years ago, the name is exactly the same."**_

"_**Now, bringing this story to the modern sense, you may want to know what happened. Katsuro sensed the descendants of Hikaru and Nadeshiko here in Kiminatsu and in Hanakura," **_Yuka went on. _**"His main purpose was to drive the descendants out of these sectors, and into his hands. The same went with the other kingdoms. The couple was brought out of here and Hanakura, and into the third, fourth and fifth-level sectors. He noticed this, therefore attacking those levels." **_

"_**The descendants' names, you may want to know now," **_Yukihira continues with confidence and no hesitation. Mikan and Natsume hold their breath, both dreading to hear their names being mentioned.

"_**That will remain confidential, for personal safety reasons, and we apologize. However, what we are happy to hear is that they have successfully accomplished their part. As most of you may have noticed from watching the news, or seeing it with your own very eyes, the torn and wrecked buildings and infrastructure from the bombings have been fully restored to its previous stature. The prophecy has finally been broken, and there should be no attacks from that any further." **_

The audience claps in celebration.

"_**We are now happy to take questions that the journalists might have that would help ease the tension to the public," **_Hiro concludes.

Mikan disregards what happens after their small speech, relieved that everything went well. She jumps up, happy to feel the heavy burden off her shoulders. Natsume and the others seem a lot calmer as well, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Do you guys want to continue watching?"

"Nah~ I'm already happy enough to hear how our parents addressed the whole situation," Mikan comments as she lies back on the couch, with a large grin on her face.

_~(^^)~_

"Guys and gals! It's time to go!" The teens hear Misaki's dad call.

"Coming!" Mikan and Ruka shout simultaneously. They are all downstairs in a few seconds, grabbing their luggage.

"Who's here to pick us up?" Ruka asks as he brings his baggage out the front door.

"Natsume's parents," Misaki's mom replies. Ruka turns and see the said people there, the dad still in the car while the mom is standing by the open trunk.

One by one, the friends file out and help Kaoru put the suitcases into the back. They climb into the back, and buckle up while Hiro starts up the car.

"We saw you two and Mikan's parents doing the press conference," Ruka starts. "It was very good!"

"Thanks. It took us the whole week to do that," Hiro says as he sweatdrops.

"Why did it take you guys so long," Natsume asks bluntly. Mikan looks at him with shock.

"What do you mean? Are you saying that a week is too much time? I think it is amazing how they conjured that up in a short amount of time like that!"

Kaoru laughs. "Don't worry about that Mikan. To be honest, we usually finish a speech like that in a span of 48 hours. This one is just harder to deal with because everything has to be much more carefully said, Natsume."

The teens don't give a said reply, but understand internally what she told them. The car ride is silent, each teen in their own little world while the parents are attentively watching the road.

"We're at Ruka's house now!" Kaoru says loudly, startling the teens.

Ruka gets out of the car after saying a few closings, and then walks happily to his parents. The parents give him a tight, big hug while Hiro backs out of the driveway.

"Rukaaaaaaa!" The mom shouts as she continues hugging her son. "We missed you sooo much!"

"Uhh mom, we spoke on the phone a few hours ago..."

"Oh I know son, but I haven't _seen_ you in over a month!" she cries as she gives one more squeeze to Ruka. Then, she releases her hold. "How was everything there?"

"It was really nice actually," Ruka comments with satisfaction. "Their field is huge!"

"As expected. Their house isn't as big as ours though."

"Really? The inside looks quite the big."

"That's just because our house is filled with lots of stuff. We'll just clean it, and it'll look bigger than it ever has been!"

The dad and Ruka facepalm.

"Can we not do it tomorrow? I'm going on a double date," Ruka mutters as he purposely stares at the floor, not wanting to make eye contact with his curious parents.

"With Hotaru?" The mom asks.

"Yep."

"And Natsume and Mikan?" The dad asks.

"Mhmm."

"Do they know?"

"... Not yet. Mikan will tell her boyfriend, no worries," Ruka replies casually as he walks into the house, his parents still eyeing each other conspicuously.

_~(^^)~_

The teens don't speak while they go to their next stop: Hotaru's mansion. Kaoru occasionally looks at the children sitting at the back, but no one utters a word. Soon, they reach Hotaru's house, where her parents are tearing up with joy when they see their daughter in the car.

"Let's go Hotaru, your parents are waiting."

Hotaru nods as she gets out of the car.

"Bye Hotaruuu! Let's meet as usual in the spot tomorrow!" Mikan replies blissfully.

Hotaru nods again. She is about to go to the back to get her luggage, but then a thought stops her. She looks at her friend. Mikan, wondering why her friend is suddenly keeping her eye on her, raises a brow.

"What?"

"Mikan. You've matured," is all Hotaru says as she retrieves her baggage, and walk up the steps, her parents hugging her like how Ruka's parents did to him. The only difference is that Hotaru's little brother is amongst the group. Clearly, he threw his pride aside to happily hug his sister that they haven't seen in more than 5 weeks.

"Welcome back home, Hotaru. Did you enjoy your stay there?"

Hotaru looks at them for a small moment.

"Yeah."

The parents smile.

"But Mikan snores. I lost sleep. I need the bed, now."

The parents and little brother sweatdrop.

Hotaru steps into the house, then suddenly halts. She turns around to her parents.

"I'm busy with Ruka tomorrow."

"Ooooh, is that a date I'm hearing?" the little brother teases. Hotaru whacks his head before concluding.

"No. Double date."

_~(^^)~_

Natsume and Mikan sit in an awkward silence in the car. Mikan knows that she has something to tell him, but his parents being present is holding her back. She realizes that her house is not far away, so she has to make the decision fast.

"Na-Natsume," Mikan says with nervousness clearly evident in her tone.

"What," he replies with his usual not-caring tone, though he is wondering why Mikan is acting strangely.

"Well, uhm, well you see, uhh..." Mikan blushes.

Natsume looks at her, raising a brow. The parents secretly listen in on their conversation as they make a turn.

"Well, I was wondering..." Mikan takes in a deep breath before blurting everything out, "ifyouwouldwantto goonadatewithme! RukaandHotaruaregoing tobewithus, likeadoubledate!"

Natsume almost chuckles, remembering how she acted in a similar way when they first met.

"Sure," Natsume replies in a casual tone.

"MY SON IS GOING ON A DATEEE!" Kaoru squeals in the passenger seat, startling Mikan and Natsume.

"MY SON IS GROWING UUUUP!" Hiro hollers, the car swerving.

A vein in Natsume's head throbs. He lifts his hand up, and lights a fire. Hiro notices in the rear-view mirror. The parents stop talking, sitting stiffly into their seat.

"I guess we should c-call for a limo n-next time," Mikan stutters with a sweatdrop as she is still gripping onto the seat.

Not much later, Mikan's house finally arrives. She gets out of the car, grabbing the luggage that Kaoru heaves out. Then she gives one look at Natsume, walks back to him, and gives a peck on the cheek.

"That was a good night kiss," she teases, sticking her tongue out.

"... You're an idiot," Natsume says as his face heats up.

"Whatever~! I don't mind being one if we can be together!" Mikan says with confidence and joy. Her blush reddens.

The two pairs of parents (especially Mikan's parents) look at them in astonishment.

"_Since when were they this close?"_

_~(^^)~_

"Natsumeeeee! I can't wait to pick out your clothes!" Kaoru continues in the car.

"No."

"You _have _to tell us where you guys are going!" The dad yells.

"No."

"Send your mommy a picture of you two kissing!"

"No, idiot!"

"Aww, our son is being so mean to us~"

"And you guys are being a pain."

The conversation continues like that for the rest of the car ride, the parents teasing their son while he replies back with a blunt one-word phrase. The next time they really look at their surroundings, they're back at their home.

Kaoru takes her son's stuff out of their trunk, and Natsume snatches it forcefully from her, speed-walking into the house.

Aoi and Youichi happily greet the three, especially Natsume. They usher them to the table, where the two, with the help of people in and around their house, made a gorgeous cake. The top says "Welcome back Natsume!" in strong, bold letters. The cutlery is already nicely laid out on the dazzling glass table. The maids and butlers are already organizing whatever is in Natsume's suitcase, putting them where they were told throughout the years that they have done this for him.

The butler that trained Natsume with his Alice ushers them to sit down as Youichi assists Aoi with cutting the cake.

"Here Natsume! You get the first slice!" Aoi gleams.

Natsume stares at the cake and grabs his fork, while the others peer at him to see how he likes it. Natsume puts a small bit into his mouth. After a few moments, he opens his mouth to speak.

"Not bad," is all he says, but the makers don't care. Youichi and Aoi hug and high-five each other.

"Natsume likes it!" Aoi shouts.

Then she and Youichi cut the cake and pass the slices to the others, and lastly themselves, happily eating.

_~(^^)~_

"Mikannn! Come get your dessert!" Yuka shouts as she sets a small homemade cookie onto a plate, along with pineapple pieces and a small piece of pie and strawberry cake.

"Yeah!" Mikan hollers back as she puts the last of her clothing into her drawer. (She insisted to Kana that she could do it herself). She runs downstairs and sees her parents at the table eating theirs.

"Whoaaaa! That's so pretty!"

"What do you think I did while you were away?"

Mikan gives a light-hearted smile and sits down, grabbing her fork. She grabs a small piece of each delicacy, savoring each bite.

"You matured, Mikan."

"Eh?" Mikan is startled by her mom's statement. This is the second time someone mentioned that she has matured. Mikan doesn't feel any different though.

"I can tell just by looking at you. You seem to have grown... not only physically, but mentally as well," Yuka responds, as she sits down.

"That's not so hard to see. You did, Mikan," Yukihira agrees as he walks back into the kitchen after leaving momentarily for the phone.

"Well, I guess there were a lot of benefits from this prophecy," Mikan says with glee.

"Speaking of which, how did everything go?"

"It went great, actually," Mikan says, her cheerfulness not faltering. "It went great," she repeats to herself.

"You seem to be in a really good mood. Want to fill us in?"

Mikan puts the butt of her fork to her chin, thinking how she is going to propose everything to her parents.

_The confrontation with Natsume and Ruka at her backyard, her close group of friends, Ruka and Hotaru becoming a couple, being Natsume's girlfriend... Nadeshiko and Hikaru, the Alices, the telepathy, Katsuro... Hotaru's last words before she went back home today, Natsume surviving..._

She nods to herself.

"I learned, that miracles can happen."

_~(^^)~_

_One day later…_

"You're so stupid polka dots."

"Stupid Natsume! Stop calling me that! And Ruka, stop laughing!"

"Well you _are_ an idiot."

"Hotaru, you're so mean!" Mikan sighs before plopping herself down on a park bench with her orange-flavored ice cream cup in her hands. "Well, when I told my parents everything, they thought that it was smart!"

The teens are at a nearby park that is situated perfectly around the center of the four kingdoms, talking about their parents' reactions when they told them the whole story regarding the prophecy. A small drinks and beverages stand was just on the other side of a large fountain. The fountain is beautifully displayed in front of them; the sound of the water pouring out from the mouth of it and the children laughing around them creating the perfect light-hearted atmosphere. They decided to come here shortly after their small lunch at their ideal picnic retreat they promised to go back to after they solved the Nadeshiko & Hikaru incident.

"We're just teasing you, Mikan!" Ruka remarks as he gives another light chuckle. He hands a small cappuccino to his girlfriend, who gives a small 'thanks' before sitting down beside her friend. Ruka gives a small quick smile before settling down on the bench as well.

"I know, I know," Mikan shakes off the topic. "Ahh~ It's been so long since we've been able to do this!" Mikan gleams a happy smile as she looks up into the sky, her hand blocking the sun's rays from her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Natsume asks emotionlessly as he leans on a nearby tree, refusing to sit on the park bench.

"I've just felt that the load of the whole Nadeshiko and Hikaru incident was just taken off, so it's feels so much more… refreshing I guess?" Mikan replies calmly.

"I don't understand." Natsume gives a sideways glance at his girlfriend.

"Well, I wasn't expecting the person who almost _died_ to understand," Mikan said a little too harshly. She doesn't notice Natsume's façade falter just a bit. He turns away from his girlfriend, not expecting her to continue. "You know, Natsume, I understand why Nadeshiko killed herself when Hikaru sacrificed himself…"

All of her friends look at her with shock. _'Where is she going with this…?'_

"I t-thought the w-world was ending w-without you, N-Natsume," they hear her mutter softly, subconsciously tightening her grip on the ice cream cup still being held in her hands.

Hotaru looks over, and gives a small smile at her friend, whose face is flushed red with embarrassment.

"You're so stupid, Mikan," Natsume growls before he walks in front of her. Mikan looks at him, her face turning into an even redder shade (if that is even humanly possible).

Before Mikan can even retort, she suddenly feels a warm touch on her lips. She gives a light gasp as she realizes that another pair of lips has touched hers from none other than her boyfriend. Her brain suddenly reels into autopilot, and she reciprocates.

Natsume pulls back after a couple more seconds, and Mikan can just barely notice the small red tint on his face.

The two look at each other, both embarrassed with their actions, disregarding the other couple that are still beside them, looking at them in shock.

"Neh, Hotaru," Ruka says, breaking Hotaru from her supposed trance.

"What," she couldn't even react as a pair of lips touches hers too. Even before she can even digest what's going on, Ruka breaks the small contact, and gives her his classical prince smile, but a special one that is solely reserved for her.

"Stupid," Hotaru quietly comments before giving him a sudden kiss back, stunning him momentarily as well.

The couples stay in awkward silence for a while, before Natsume surprises his friends once again as he speaks up first.

"I've decided that I'm going to become the successor of Kiminatsu." He doesn't even bother stealing a glance at his friends' reactions to the news.

None of them really expected that he wasn't going to succeed the throne. However, they have known that he never really wanted to, if he had the choice. Him making the declaration, Mikan knows that he _wants_ to, and is committing to it.

"I will become the successor of Hanakura," Mikan declares after momentary stillness amongst the friends. "Natsume," Mikan lightly holds the hand of her lover with both of her hands, "can you help me with that?" She puts the hand to her face.

Natsume looks at her, his eyes widened at the sudden confession. After another moment, he turns away, again in embarrassment.

"If you'll help me with mine."

Hotaru and Ruka almost gasp in shock and happiness as they see Mikan's smile glowing brighter than ever, a tear slipping down her cheek in absolute joy.

Hotaru leans back onto her boyfriend's shoulder, a clear smile etched on her face.

"I am committed too," Hotaru mutters to her boyfriend, Ruka nodding in agreement for his kingdom as well.

"We'll do great!" Mikan comments as she embraces her boyfriend suddenly, almost causing him to trip.

"Mhm," Natsume replies, a smile etching on his face, "but that means we'll be busier, Mikan."

"So?" Mikan stares naively at the raven-haired prince.

"That means you'll have to work a _lot_ harder. In academics, _everything_."

"Well whatever!" Mikan responds impulsively. "With us four, we can accomplish anything."

Mikan happily turns to all of her friends, one by one, stopping back at her boyfriend. "We'll definitely get through it…" She gives a quick peck onto her boyfriend's lips.

"… Definitely."

_~When Princess and Prince Meet, End~_

* * *

_And that's all, everyone. Read and review, perhaps? Please visit our poll on our profile, as it is regarding our next fanfiction. Thank you for reading WPAPM. :)_

_- Sakura-tan, goldenstarlight [dot] wordpress [dot] com, February 14th/2012, 3:40pm._


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